SpaceX says its Starshield service has been awarded more than $6 billion in multi-year U.S. government contracts. That is a company-reported contract total—not proof that $6 billion has been paid, or that the awards were all made recently. Meanwhile, DOGE has claimed large federal savings, but the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found significant weaknesses in the evidence behind many of those figures. Federal contract and grant obligations also rose from fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025. The available figures do not show that Starshield funding came at the expense of other programs.
What the $6 billion Starshield figure does—and does not—mean
In its results release for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, SpaceX said Starshield had been awarded over $6 billion in multi-year U.S. government contracts. The release gives an aggregate company-reported amount; it does not list individual awards, say when each was made, or disclose how much the government has paid.
That distinction matters to taxpayers and anyone trying to understand federal spending. A contract’s stated value can cover work over several years. It is not automatically the same as the amount obligated in a particular year or the cash already paid. The release does not provide the award-level details needed to calculate those amounts. (Source: SpaceX, “SpaceX Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results,” SEC-hosted release.)
- What SpaceX reported: More than $6 billion in multi-year government contracts for Starshield.
- What the figure does not establish: A single new award, awards made only during the second quarter, or $6 billion already spent by the government.
- What is not itemized: Contract numbers, individual award dates, obligations, and payments.
How that compares with DOGE’s claimed savings
DOGE’s Wall of Receipts reported $110.34 billion in claimed savings across federal contracts, grants, and leases as of July 7, 2026. GAO reviewed the Wall and found material problems with its transparency and reliability. It said “some savings estimates are incorrect or lack supporting evidence.” That is a finding about the strength of the claims, not a determination that no savings occurred.
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GAO reported that DOGE did not use its stated methodology for most contract savings, lacked enough information to verify the method behind 96 percent of grant savings, and did not explain how it calculated lease savings. In a separate selected-contract review, GAO found a $1.7 billion saving listed for a Defense Health Agency IT contract even though the contract had not been terminated and its scope, value, and funding had not been reduced. (Source: U.S. Government Accountability Office, DOGE Wall of Receipts: More Transparency Needed on How Savings Are Derived from Contract, Grant, and Lease Terminations, August 6, 2026.)
DOGE has also displayed a broader $215 billion estimated-savings total. Its page describes that figure as a combination of categories including asset sales, contract and lease actions, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic and regulatory changes, and workforce reductions. DOGE’s figure is an agency estimate; GAO’s findings about the Wall’s contract, grant, and lease figures do not validate this broader total. (Source: DOGE, “Estimated Savings,” last updated January 1, 2026.)
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Federal obligations increased in two major categories from FY2024 to FY2025
GAO’s analysis of USAspending.gov data found that total federal obligations in both contracts and grants were higher in fiscal year 2025 than in fiscal year 2024. An obligation is a government commitment to spend, not necessarily a payment already made. These government-wide totals do not show whether a particular agency or program was cut, and they are not directly comparable to DOGE’s claimed savings or SpaceX’s multi-year contract figure.
| Category | FY2024 obligations | FY2025 obligations | What the comparison shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contracts | $756.18 billion | $792.77 billion | Total contract obligations were higher in FY2025. |
| Grants | $1,209.50 billion | $1,241.93 billion | Total grant obligations were higher in FY2025. |
(Source: GAO analysis of USAspending.gov data, 2026; reported in DHS Contracts: Reported Potential Cost Avoidance from Terminations Will Not Fully Materialize.) Rising totals do not rule out cuts to specific budgets: they simply mean the figures do not support the claim that federal contracts and grants, taken as a whole, were lower in FY2025.
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A canceled or reduced contract can prevent future spending, but that does not mean the full contract value becomes cash savings. The result depends on what the government had already obligated, what work was canceled, whether funding was actually deobligated, and how the claimed figure was calculated. GAO’s review found examples that illustrate those differences.
Lease terminations
Of the 264 leases DOGE listed for termination, GAO found that 108 were already being phased out when DOGE was established. A list entry alone therefore does not establish that DOGE caused the full remaining lease value to be saved.
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Contract termination versus projected cost avoidance
The Department of Homeland Security reported terminating 438 contracts and deobligating $92 million through September 30, 2025. It also estimated $10.5 billion in potential cost avoidance over the contracts’ lifespans. The $10.5 billion is a projection, not cash already saved; the $92 million is the reported amount deobligated. (Source: GAO, DHS Contracts: Reported Potential Cost Avoidance from Terminations Will Not Fully Materialize.)
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Does this show Musk’s contracts are being funded while other spending is cut?
No. The figures establish that SpaceX reports a substantial multi-year government-contract total for Starshield and that DOGE pursued spending reductions across agencies. They do not compare the same period, account, or spending category, and they do not trace a reduction in one program to funding for Starshield. The government-wide contract and grant obligation totals GAO examined increased from FY2024 to FY2025, while some individual programs or awards may still have faced reductions.
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There is also a distinction between a contract award and a role in a government study. On September 30, 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Project Meridian, a Pentagon study led by Elon Musk, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The announcement, as reported by Axios, describes a study role; it does not by itself establish another contract award.
Quick Recap
What a taxpayer can reasonably conclude
- SpaceX reported more than $6 billion in multi-year U.S. government contracts for Starshield, but did not disclose award-by-award amounts or payments in its Q2 2026 release.
- DOGE reported $110.34 billion in contract, grant, and lease savings as of July 7, 2026; GAO found substantial gaps in the methods and supporting evidence for those claims.
- DOGE’s separate $215 billion estimate covers a broader set of categories and should not be treated as an independently verified savings total.
- GAO’s FY2024-to-FY2025 comparison found higher overall contract and grant obligations, which does not settle whether particular programs were cut.
- The evidence does not establish that Starshield awards caused cuts elsewhere or that the whole multi-year contract figure has been paid.
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