In a rare bipartisan twist, Senator Bernie Sanders has expressed conditional support for President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), provided it takes a hard look at the Pentagon’s sprawling and controversial budget. Sanders’ unexpected endorsement came in a post on X (formerly Twitter), where the Vermont senator aligned with billionaire Elon Musk’s criticism of defense spending waste.
“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,” Sanders wrote. “Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change.”
Sanders’ remarks spotlight the Pentagon’s $886 billion budget and its repeated audit failures, raising concerns about accountability and oversight in the U.S. defense sector. Despite its immense resources, the Department of Defense has been unable to account for billions of taxpayer dollars, fueling criticism from both progressives and fiscal conservatives.
Sanders, a longtime critic of the Military-Industrial Complex, noted that only a handful of senators have consistently voted against inflated defense budgets. By backing DOGE’s potential focus on defense spending, Sanders sees an opportunity to redirect funds toward programs benefiting ordinary Americans, such as healthcare, education, and climate initiatives.
Sanders’ post follows comments from Elon Musk, who recently highlighted the Pentagon’s financial mismanagement. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been vocal about the need for transparency and efficiency in government spending, particularly in areas prone to waste, such as defense contracts.
By agreeing with Musk, Sanders bridges a gap between progressive and libertarian critiques of bloated federal budgets, creating an unlikely alignment on government reform.
