U.S. president Donald Trump said that he expects Elon to uncover billions of dollars in fraud and abuse within the Pentagon, during an audit led by the billionaire.

I'm going tell him to check out the Department of Education very soon. Maybe in 24 hours. Then, I will go and check with the military. Trump said, "Let's check out the military" in an interview with Fox News Brett Baier that was broadcast on Sunday morning.

Trump, speaking of the federal department with the biggest budget, said: "We are going to find hundreds of millions and billions of dollars in fraud and abuse."

The Pentagon budget is close to $1 trillion per annum. In December, the then-President Joe Biden approved $895 billion of defense spending for fiscal year ending September 30.

Musk, whom the White House describes as a special employee of the federal government, was given a task by Trump to reduce the size and scope of the U.S. Federal workforce. Musk's aides, as part of this initiative, have requested access to confidential data in the computer systems of various government agencies.

Critics claim that the actions are illegal, expose classified information at risk and are in fact gutting entire agencies.

In a separate Sunday interview, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said that the Department of Government Efficiency might be particularly interested in the shipbuilding processes at the Pentagon. He also described the Pentagon as being full of unnecessary waste.

Waltz stated in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press that "everything seems to be too expensive, takes too long and delivers too little for the soldiers."

Waltz said, "There are many things to examine in the shipbuilding industry which is a complete mess."

Leaders across the political spectrum criticize the waste and inefficiency of the Pentagon. Democrats and civil servant unions claim Musk's Department of Government Efficiency does not have the expertise needed to restructure Pentagon and that their efforts could expose classified programs.

Musk's companies have also signed major contracts with Pentagon, raising significant concerns about conflict of interest. (Reporting and editing by Ross Colvin, Mark Porter, and Gram Slattery)

(source: Reuters)