Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will soon expand its efforts to identify wasteful spending, with new directives from President Donald Trump to investigate the Education Department and the Pentagon.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump revealed that Musk would begin reviewing the Education Department immediately, followed by an examination of military spending. “Let’s check the military,” Trump said. “We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions, of dollars of fraud and abuse.”
Trump has repeatedly questioned the necessity of the Education Department, with members of his administration now exploring ways to reduce its size or eliminate it altogether. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently confirmed that options for restructuring the department are under review.
The Pentagon, which now operates on a budget exceeding $900 billion, has failed to pass multiple audits. Conservative lawmakers have pushed for greater oversight, and Trump has indicated that DOGE’s review could expose significant misuse of funds.
Musk’s role in government cost-cutting has been met with strong opposition. His team has already moved to restructure USAID, placing its 10,000 employees on leave and attempting to halt operations. Lawsuits have been filed challenging DOGE’s authority to make such sweeping changes.
Despite this, Trump remains committed to Musk’s efforts. “He’s got a very capable group of people,” he said. “They’ll ask questions and they’ll see immediately, if somebody gets tongue-tied, that they’re either crooked or don’t know what they’re doing.”
