Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) criticized defense spending in a post on the social platform X on Sunday, saying tech billionaire Elon Musk is “right.”
“Elon Musk is right. The Department of Defense, which has a budget of $886 billion, has failed its seventh audit in a row. Billions of dollars have been lost,” Sanders said in his post.
“Last year, only 13 senators voted against the military-industrial complex and a defense budget riddled with waste and fraud. “It must change,” he added.
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Last month, President-elect Trump appointed Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head a new “Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE).” The department aims to “reduce excessive regulation, cut wasteful spending,” and restructure federal agencies.
DOGE will “provide advice and guidance from outside the government” and work with the White House Office of Management and Budget, the president-elect said.
On Monday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) suggested in an interview with CNN that Democrats could work with Musk to cut the defense budget. The California Democrat accused the defense budget of waste, fraud and abuse, saying the Pentagon had “failed the last six or seven audits.”
Khanna also posted a video of his CNN appearance that day on X.
“There are Democrats (House Armed Services Committee) who will work with @elonmusk and @DOGE in reducing waste, fraud and abuse and opening up the 5 minorities to more competition,” Khanna said in the post.
“cool!” Musk responded to Khanna’s post.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment.
