Trump Expects Musk-Led Audit to Uncover Billions in Pentagon Savings

US President Donald Trump has expressed his expectation that Elon Musk, the head of the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will identify significant savings and efficiencies within the Pentagon’s budget, Al Jazeera reports.

“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse” at the Pentagon, which has an annual budget approaching $1 trillion, Trump said in an interview with Fox News.

The White House appointed Musk, the founder of SpaceX and Tesla, to lead DOGE with the mandate of streamlining the federal workforce. This role grants Musk access to confidential information within government agencies’ computer systems.

While concerns about waste and inefficiency at the Pentagon have been voiced across the political spectrum, the appointment has also raised questions. Critics have expressed concerns regarding potential exposure of classified information and the possibility of agency restructuring without congressional oversight.

Musk’s companies also maintain substantial contracts with the Pentagon, which has prompted discussions about potential conflicts of interest. A US judge recently issued an emergency order preventing DOGE from accessing Treasury Department payment systems containing sensitive American data.

Despite these concerns, Trump indicated his intention to expand DOGE’s scope. He said he would ask Musk “very soon, like maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education… Then I’m going to go, go to the military.”

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz suggested the Pentagon’s shipbuilding processes could be a focus of the audit.

Over the past three weeks, the Trump administration has issued several executive orders aimed at reducing federal spending, including pausing funds to USAID.

On Saturday, the administration directed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to halt much of its operations.