Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have been making headlines—and prompting protests—in recent weeks for their unconventional approach to carrying out the Trump administration’s pledge to reduce federal spending: mass layoffs, demands for weekly task accountability and more.

What’s really behind the purported federal waste DOGE says it is tackling? According to one veteran government leader who testified before Congress last month, skills gaps are playing an outsized role in dragging down efficiency and driving up the potential for waste—a reality that experts say has important takeaways for the private sector.

At a Feb. 25 hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Comptroller General Gene Dodaro told lawmakers that the federal workforce “doesn’t have the proper skills that are needed to address many of these important areas that are providing critical services to the American people, and at the heart of providing public safety.”

Dodaro, of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), presented the GAO’s annual High-Risk List, identifying the areas where fraud and abuse could proliferate within the federal government. Nearly half of the 38 items on the 2025 list, according to an analysis by Federal News Network, are related to government agencies lacking the skills or the people they need.

“We’re not saying you need more government,” Dodaro told lawmakers. Throughout the hearing, legislators debated DOGE’s strategy of massively overhauling the federal workforce, with some Democrats arguing that there is not enough strategic focus on upskilling federal workers and planning for skills loss with retirements.

“Not enough” young talent, Dodaro added, “have been coming into the government with the kind of skills that are needed going forward.

“What we’re saying is, you don’t have the people in order to accomplish what Congress has set in statute and what the administration’s priorities are.”

Skills: A critical component of efficiency

More strategic human capital management that plans for the skills needed tomorrow can help mitigate the vulnerabilities that are exposing the federal government to waste, Dodaro advised.

It’s a reality many private sector organizations are also confronting.

A report released earlier this year by learning company Pearson found that the U.S. economy is losing more than $1 trillion annually because of “inefficient career transitions and learning gaps.”

ADP found similar results in its recent survey of 38,000 global workers about career barriers. The firm reports that of those who have opportunities to advance at their current company, about one-third plan to stay with the organization because of professional training and skills development offerings.

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