President Donald Trump has tasked billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk with leading an extensive audit of the Pentagon, aiming to uncover fraud and abuse amounting to billions of dollars.
During a Super Bowl interview with Fox News’ Brett Baier, Trump announced his expectation that Musk who leads the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—will spearhead an unprecedented review of federal spending, beginning with the Department of Defense.
“I’m going to tell him [Musk] very soon, maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education.
“Then I’m going to say, ‘Go to the military. Let’s check the military.
“We are going to find billions—hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud and abuse,’” Trump stated. “We are going to find billions hundreds of millions of dollars in fraud and abuse.”
Musk, who has been designated a special government employee, is set to gain access to confidential government data across multiple agencies as part of Trump’s broader initiative to streamline federal operations and cut excessive spending.
With the Pentagon’s budget nearing $1 trillion annually following a defense authorization bill of $895 billion signed by former President Joe Biden last December Trump’s directive signals a heightened scrutiny of military expenditures.
