- GAO has reviewed DHS’ contract cancellation efforts and reported cost savings
- DHS ended 438 contracts and deobligated $92 million over an eight-month period
- The 2026 Homeland Security Summit will address AI, edge capabilities and more
The Government Accountability Office has found that the Department of Homeland Security is unlikely to realize most of the $10.5 billion in cost savings it projected from a round of contract cancellations carried out in 2025.
DHS and other federal agencies continue to weigh acquisition oversight and cost-management priorities as they carry out broader efficiency initiatives. The Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 10 will bring together government and industry leaders to discuss artificial intelligence, counter-UAS coordination, federated data and identity fabric and edge capabilities for borders and national events, and more. Register now to join the conversation.
GAO said Thursday it examined how DHS carried out contract terminations during 2025 as the first report in a planned series, focusing on actions taken from January through September 2025.
To conduct the review, the congressional watchdog analyzed federal procurement data, examined relevant executive orders and DHS guidance, and interviewed officials from the department’s Office of the Chief Procurement Officer and Office of the Chief Financial Officer.
How Did DHS Review Its Contract Portfolio?
Starting in early 2025, DHS reviewed its contract portfolio under a series of presidential directives calling for reduced federal spending. The department coordinated this effort with agency-level DOGE teams established to support the review.
From Jan. 20 through Sept. 30, 2025, DHS terminated 438 contracts for convenience, covering more than $1.6 billion in prior obligations. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Emergency Management Agency accounted for the largest shares of terminated contract value.
Following the terminations, DHS deobligated over $249 million while also obligating an additional $157 million for settlement costs and continued work under partially terminated contracts, resulting in a net deobligation of about $92 million through March 2026.
What Did GAO’s Review Find?
- DHS publicly reported that its contract terminations could avoid up to $10.5 billion in current and future costs.
GAO found this figure overstates actual savings for two reasons:
- The estimate reflects the maximum amount DHS could have obligated on these contracts, not what it would have actually spent had the contracts continued.
- Where DHS still needs the same goods or services, those costs are being incurred through other contracts rather than avoided.
- 95 percent of that reported figure stems from 30 terminated IDIQ contracts for information technology services with performance periods extending through fiscal year 2034.
- DHS has since obligated more than $1.7 billion through other governmentwide contract vehicles to meet the same IT requirements, offsetting a portion of the projected savings.
- GAO concluded that actual cost avoidance will fall short of the amount DHS has publicly reported.
What Other Major Contracts Has DHS Recently Pursued?
Amid GAO’s findings on DHS’ contract terminations, the department has kept up a steady pace of large-scale procurement activity across several of its mission areas. Since the funding measure restoring most DHS components was signed into law in April, DHS has advanced cloud modernization, systems integration and border technology initiatives across multiple components.
Cloud modernization has been a particular focus, with the department’s Cumulus program generating two major cloud services awards this year: a potential $2.6 billion contract to Amazon Web Services in June and a potential $568 million contract to Oracle in August, both covering platform- and software-as-a-service offerings. Around the same time, WidePoint secured a $3.1 billion IDIQ contract for departmentwide cellular wireless managed services.
On the systems integration front, DHS recently unveiled plans to compete a follow-on $100 million OneStream systems integrator blanket purchase agreement, with an award anticipated in the second quarter of 2027.
DHS components have also continued rolling out new technology capabilities tied to their contracting priorities. The department built the Biometric Data Collection and Verification System and the Biometric Identity Disambiguation system to address technical challenges in biometric identity verification, while its Science and Technology Directorate separately tested facial biometric technology with CBP to verify pedestrian border exits.
