Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seems to be backing the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The revelation comes after he criticized the Pentagon’s spending and audit failures on social media and even admitted, “Elon Musk is right.”
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead DOGE in an effort to tackle the problem of excessive government expenditures.
On Sunday, Sanders took to X to highlight the issue of wasteful government spending.
“Elon Musk is right,” Sanders declared. “The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions. Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change.”
Elon Musk is right.
The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions.
Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud.
That must change.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 1, 2024
Musk, in response to Sanders’ post, replied with two American flag emojis.
The Department of Defense remains unable to fully account for its colossal $824 billion budget.
Despite this, officials have claimed there’s steady progress in their effort to achieve a clean audit by 2028.
Currently, the Defense Department has what’s called a disclaimer of opinion. This is audit lingo for not being able to provide sufficient data to verify financial accuracy.
The end goal is to earn an unmodified opinion, which is financial jargon for a clean audit signifying accurate statements.
A qualified opinion, however, would highlight some concerns but still endorse the financial data as mostly sound.
Michael McCord, the official overseeing Defense Department finances, stated the audit result had been expected, but he’s optimistic.
“Momentum is on our side, and throughout the Department there is strong commitment — and belief in our ability — to achieve an unmodified audit opinion,” he remarked.
Auditors reviewed 28 separate entities within the Department of Defense that collectively make up the Pentagon’s report card.
Nine managed to secure unmodified audit opinions, one received a qualified opinion, while 15 were given disclaimers, leaving three audits still pending.
Officials predict the total number of clean or qualified opinions will be similar to last year’s results.
Since the Pentagon became legally obligated to conduct audits in 2018, it has yet to pass one. This year’s audit involved approximately 1,700 auditors and came at a cost of $178 million.
Sanders’ latest post coincides with Musk’s ongoing criticism of government spending, also voiced on X.
Musk raised alarm over the rising national debt, describing the country’s interest payments as surpassing what is allocated for defense.
“Over a trillion dollars and growing. The country is going to go bankrupt,” Musk warned.
He advocated for DOGE by saying, “That’s why we need the department of Government Efficiency, D.O.G.E., on a brass plaque on a desk.”
Musk also claimed that many Americans remain unaware of the national debt issue. He stated, “Those that do often don’t know how big it is or that our interest payments now exceed what we spend on our military. Only a small % understand that government overspending causes inflation.”
The total U.S. national debt now stands in excess of $36 trillion, aligning with Musk’s grim post that “America is going bankrupt fast.”
But as soon as Elon focuses on IRS or Dept. of Education Sanders will turn on hm.