The U.S. government wastes hundreds of billions of dollars annually, according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
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In an interview with journalist Christopher Rufo that premiered Sunday, Bessent said federal "waste, fraud, and abuse" totals $300 billion to $600 billion a year — a figure he emphasized is based on the Government Accountability Office's estimate of fraud losses equal to about 10% of the federal budget and 1% to 2% of gross domestic product.
Bessent argued that shrinking that number would free up resources to strengthen national defense without piling on more debt, pointing to President Donald Trump's push for a major military rebuild after years of strain.
"If we can get rid of this waste, fraud, and abuse, we can finance a safer, sounder U.S. … without taking on more debt," he said in the Rufo interview.
The GAO estimate that Bessent referenced found the federal government likely loses between $233 billion and $521 billion annually to fraud, based on data from fiscal 2018 through 2022.
Separately, the GAO has estimated that "improper payments" — a broader category that can include errors and overpayments — have cost taxpayers trillions over time, highlighting the scale of weak controls in Washington.
Bessent also addressed the administration's Department of Government Efficiency effort to cut waste, saying he shared Elon Musk's goal but differed on method.
While Musk's Silicon Valley mantra is "move fast and break things," Bessent told Rufo his approach is "move deliberately and fix things," signaling that Treasury's investigations will prioritize building airtight cases.
That prosecutorial mindset is increasingly reflected across the administration.
During a White House briefing on Thursday, Vice President JD Vance announced the creation of a new assistant attorney general role focused on combating fraud involving taxpayer dollars, with nationwide jurisdiction.
Vance's announcement followed heightened scrutiny of alleged large-scale fraud networks in Minnesota, which has become a national flashpoint in the broader debate over accountability in blue-state governance.
Bessent said the administration intends to use Minnesota as a model and "take this … map to the other 49 states," as he described it in the interview — a direct warning that federal investigators plan to follow the money wherever it leads.
Beyond spending abuse, the interview pointed to another massive drain on public finances: unpaid taxes.
IRS projections show a net "tax gap" of about $606 billion for tax year 2022, the difference between taxes owed and taxes collected on time.
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Bessent's message is simple: Before Washington demands new taxes or embraces new debt, it should first prove it can stop hemorrhaging hundreds of billions through fraud, mismanagement, and lax enforcement, then reinvest those recovered dollars in core priorities like defense and border security.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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