By Yasin Gungor
ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump said he expects his close aide and business magnate Elon Musk to uncover billions of dollars in fraud and abuse at the Pentagon and Education Department.
“I’m going to tell him very soon, like maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education. He’s going to find the same thing. Then I’m going to go, go to the military. Let’s check the military,” Trump said in a pre-Super Bowl interview with Fox News's Brett Baier released on Sunday.
Trump predicted the audit would reveal “billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” emphasizing that combating wasteful spending was a key promise of his presidency.
When asked if he trusts Musk, Trump called him “terrific,” adding, “He’s not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it.”
Musk, a key Trump supporter, serves as a “special government employee” heading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with cutting federal spending.
However, a judge recently blocked DOGE from accessing Treasury Department data, and Democrats have challenged its authority to review sensitive government information, raising concerns over potential conflicts of interest due to Musk’s business ties.