United States President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he expects Elon Musk, the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, to uncover billions of dollars in fraud and abuse at the Pentagon during an audit led by the billionaire.
Trump made this statement in a Super Bowl interview with Fox News’ Brett Baier.
Musk, whom the White House describes as a special government employee, has been tasked by Trump with leading an effort to reduce the size of the United States federal workforce.
As part of that initiative, the X owner is expected to have access to confidential information within computer systems across various government agencies.
“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 said of the largest federal department.
The Pentagon’s budget is approaching $1 trillion per year.
Just last December, then-President Joe Biden signed a bill authorising $895 billion in defence spending for the fiscal year ending 30 September.
