The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report Tuesday detailing areas of the federal government especially vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse, hours ahead of a House Oversight Committee hearing to discuss its findings. 

The government's chief watchdog releases a report at the start of each Congress to identify which federal programs are most susceptible to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. 

Tuesday's report, which includes recommendations to executive branch agencies as well as Congress, is the first delivered during the age of the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. 

The GAO’s 2025 High-Risk List highlights 38 areas across the federal government "that are seriously vulnerable to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement or that are in need of transformation."

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The report cites $84 billion in savings as a result of GAO recommendations over the past two years, but the watchdog adds that "the progress made overall varied." 

The watchdog added a new section this year dedicated to federal disaster assistance in the wake of California wildfires and back-to-back hurricanes that pounded the Southeast over the past several months. 

GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding the report. 

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., has billed the report as a "roadmap" provided to the Trump administration and DOGE, led by Elon Musk, to "take on the runaway federal bureaucracy." 

"Despite GAO’s recommendations to protect taxpayers and their comprehensive reports released each year, bloated federal programs continue to squander taxpayer funds and fail to meet basic objectives. Americans are tired of the federal government failing its report card and demand action," Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement last week. "Americans are demanding action and President Trump, DOGE, and Republicans in Congress are delivering on that promise." 

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Last year, 27 natural disasters caused at least $1 billion in economic damage and 568 deaths. The GAO assessed that the "federal approach to disaster recovery is fragmented across over 30 federal entities," meaning "many entities involved with multiple programs and authorities, differing requirements and timeframes, and limited data sharing across entities could make it harder for survivors and communities to navigate federal programs." 

"FEMA and other federal entities – including Congress – need to address the nation's fragmented federal approach to disaster recovery," according to the report summary. "Attention is also needed to improve processes for assisting survivors, invest in resilience, and strengthen FEMA's disaster workforce and capacity." 

Other GAO recommendations include reducing "billions in significant improper payments and fraud." The watchdog said areas on the high-risk list include programs that represented about 80% of the total government-wide reported improper payment estimate, including "two of the fastest-growing programs – Medicare and Medicaid – as well as the unemployment insurance system and the Earned Income Tax Credit." 



The recommendations also call for greater federal efforts "to better understand the status of private sector technological developments with cybersecurity implications – such as artificial intelligence – and to continue to enhance public and private sector coordination." The GAO also stressed how the "federal government spends more than $100 billion annually on IT, with the vast majority of this spent on operations and maintenance of existing systems rather than new technology."