A newly released audit has exposed massive government waste, revealing that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has been paying for over 11,000 Adobe Acrobat licenses with zero users. In addition, thousands of other software licenses across multiple agencies were found to have little to no activity, racking up enormous costs while remaining entirely unused.
HUD completed the same audit. Initial findings on paid software licenses:
– 35,855 ServiceNow licenses on three products; only using 84
– 11,020 Acrobat licenses with zero users
– 1,776 Cognos licenses; only using 325
– 800 WestLaw Classic licenses; only using 216
– 10,000 Java… https://t.co/xnY8TkLmM3— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) March 6, 2025
The Department of Government Oversight and Efficiency (DOGE) conducted the audit, uncovering a troubling pattern of wasteful spending on software that serves no purpose. Despite ballooning federal budgets, agencies appear to be hemorrhaging taxpayer dollars on digital tools that never get activated. The findings have prompted urgent calls for accountability, with watchdogs demanding answers on why these purchases were made in the first place and why no action was taken to cancel unused subscriptions.
This is just the latest example of widespread inefficiency in government spending, as similar audits across other agencies have revealed millions of dollars wasted on redundant or unnecessary contracts. With federal debt climbing and economic concerns mounting, the question remains—how many more hidden expenses are draining taxpayer funds?
The DOGE audit is expected to spark further investigations into digital waste across federal agencies. How much more unnecessary spending will be uncovered next?