Apparently, you can teach an old DOGE new tricks.
Lefty Sen. Bernie Sanders turned heads Sunday with his support for President-elect Donald Trump’s planned new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — providing it takes aim at the Pentagon’s cushy 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,” the 83-year-old Vermont senator posted on X.
“Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud. That must change,” the Independent Party pol added.
Trump had announced shortly after winning last month’s election that tech mogul Elon Musk, 53, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, 39, would serve as the co-heads of DOGE until it concludes its work by July 4, 2026.
Despite the planned new agency’s cryptocurrency- and meme-inspired name, DOGE is not actually a government department but instead an outside organization that will coordinate with the White House and Office of Management and Budget to root out waste.
Sanders, along with many progressives, has long been an outspoken critic of US defense spending, which he has panned as “bloated and wasteful” while calling for more resources toward social spending.
Last month, the Department of Defense announced it had failed its seventh independent audit in a row, which has troubled both Republicans and Democrats. The department had been authorized to receive $824.3 billion in government money during the 2024 fiscal year.
Mike McCord, the Pentagon’s chief financial officer, has told reporters that no significant fraud was uncovered and that the department is working toward a “clean” audit, which will likely be possible several years from now.
Last week, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) echoed Sanders in suggesting that Democrats are willing to collaborate on attacking potentially wasteful spending — at least in the DOD.
“When it comes to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse and opening the 5 primes to more competition, there are Democrats on [the House Armed Services Committee] who will work with @elonmusk and @DOGE,” Khanna posted on X.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) recently mused that DOGE should take a look at reevaluating the structure of the Department of Homeland Security, too.
Trump, 78, has long expressed interest in expanding the military’s capabilities, which could mean increases in defense spending.
Musk, who has spent much of his post-election time at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, replied to Sanders’ post with several American flag emojis.
“Sensible spending is not a partisan issue. The general public supports @DOGE holding government accountable to spend taxpayer money more wisely,” Musk’s America super PAC wrote in response.
Sanders’ post drew attention from some of his longstanding adversaries.
“Welcome home, Bernie,” former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) chided.
The End Wokeness X account quipped, “Has hell frozen over?”
Collin Rugg, co-owner of Trending Politics, added on X, “Glad you realized Elon Musk is not the problem.
“The problem is the federal government which has wasted and lost trillions of dollars of taxpayer money,”
Ramaswamy and Musk have teased their plans for DOGE in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, which entails pushing for executive actions to slash government and then relentlessly fighting foes in court.
The two bombastic entrepreneurs have predicted that DOGE also will take a sledgehammer to government red tape and help spur more robust economic growth.
