2 days Ago
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) might not be a big fan of billionaires, but he can agree with Elon Musk on one big thing.
The left-wing legislator gave a small bit of credit to tech mogul and Donald Trump ally, Musk, while criticizing the government’s outsized defense budget in a social media post on Sunday . “Elon Musk is right,” Sanders declared in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row.
It’s lost track of billions.” Pointing out congress’ reluctance to tackle the government’s glut of military spending, the avowed Democratic Socialist noted how “last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud.” “That must change,” he went on.
Defense spending has long been one of the bulkiest parts of the federal budget. 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.
Congress approved $841 billion in funds for the Pentagon in 2024, an amount that added up to about 12.5% of the federal government’s total yearly expenses. While the Democratic socialist and free market fanatic may seem like unlikely allies, Musk has already made a pledge to hedge government waste while copiloting Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy .
Last month, Ramaswamy shot down seasoned State Department official, John Bolton , when the former National Security Advisor urged DOGE to redirect any of its potential savings to the military. “We need to strengthen our military by focusing on the *effectiveness* of our defense spending, rather than just reflexively increasing the magnitude,” Ramaswamy said in response to one of Bolton’s appearances on CNN . Don't let this be the end of the free press.
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Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all. You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.
Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all. Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages. Musk was in agreement, promising that DOGE “will improve the efficiency of Defense spending” in a reply.
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