Encyclopedia · Organization
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Independent nonpartisan congressional auditing and oversight agency
Organization details
- Founded
- 1921 under Budget and Accounting Act
- Original name
- General Accounting Office
- Renamed
- Government Accountability Office, 2004
- Branch
- Legislative branch
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is an independent, nonpartisan congressional auditing and oversight agency.
Mandate and history
Congress established GAO in 1921 to examine federal spending and accountability. The office serves Congress through audits, evaluations, investigations and recommendations, and is not an executive branch agency.
2026 DOGE audits
GAO published audits of DOGE personnel, claimed savings and system access in 2026. Its September 29 report said agencies supplied insufficient access-and-controls information to determine the scope of some DOGE teams’ access to government data. A separate August 2026 review said some public DOGE savings estimates were erroneous or lacked supporting methods; these are GAO findings, not proof of specific criminal misuse.
References
Research compiled through November 12, 2026. Sources and historical roles are dated where known.