Elon Musk's Pentagon audit: Navigating a fiscal minefield
The President of the USA, Donald Trump, announced during a conversation with Fox News that Elon Musk will conduct an audit at the Pentagon. Trump expects that the billionaire will uncover abuses and fraud worth "billions of dollars".
Trump declared, "Soon, maybe even within 24 hours, I will direct him to the Department of Education. Then I intend to enter the military." We will find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars in abuses and fraud there. According to Reuters, this year's Pentagon budget amounts to $895 billion.
Musk has taken over the leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As the White House explained, Tesla and the X platform owner Musk is a special government employee, which is usually granted to external advisors working for less than 130 days a year.
His role will be to "eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse" in the federal administration and to reduce employment among government employees.
Additionally, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz spoke on Sunday about the Department of Defence's expenditures. In an interview with NBC, he stated that Musk may take a particular interest in the shipbuilding process. Waltz criticised the Pentagon, claiming that "everything there seems to cost too much, take too long, and provide too little for the soldiers".
- We need business leaders to go in there and absolutely reform the procurement processes - he said. He described the army's shipyard orders as "an absolute mess".
Musk's contracts in the Pentagon
Leaders across the political spectrum have long criticised wastefulness and inefficiency in the Pentagon. However, Democrats and civil service labour unions argue that DOGE lacks the expertise to restructure the Pentagon, and their efforts risk exposing secret military programmes. Moreover, Musk's companies also hold significant contracts with the Pentagon, which raises serious concerns about conflicts of interest.
