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Tag: audit

Elon Musk’s DOGE prepares for Fort Knox gold reserve audit at Rand Paul’s urging

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul joined ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss the need for a gold reserve audit at Ft. Knox and his decision to vote against the Republican budget bill.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has his sights set on an audit of the U.S. gold reserve at Ft. Knox through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after it was revealed there is no yearly review for the world-renowned stash.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who invited Musk to review the gold reserve on X over the weekend, joined “FOX & Friends” to discuss the need for greater transparency about the massive reserve after trying to verify it himself for a decade.

COSTCO GOLD AND SILVER SALES ‘SEEM TO HAVE GROWN CONSIDERABLY’

“I think some of them may not think it needs to be audited all the time, but I think the more sunlight, the better, more transparency, the better. And also, it brings attention to the fact that gold still has value and implicitly, not explicitly, but implicitly, gold still gives value to the dollar,” Paul told Lawrence Jones on Monday.

“That’s why we don’t get rid of it,” he continued. “We’ve got it. The IMF has it, the World Bank has it. Most of the central banks… around the world have gold, and it’s an implicit trust that the dollar still has some backing.”

FORT KNOX, KY – MAY 31: An M1 Abrams tank sits on a pedestal above the entrance signage to Fort Knox, a US military installation, on May 31, 2021 in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Fort Knox spans 108,955 acres across Hardin, Meade and Bullitt counties. Fort Kn (Getty Images)

The United States has the world’s largest gold reserve, having more than 8,100 tonnes of it at the end of 2024, according to the World Gold Council.

Fort. Knox’s massive reserve has reportedly been valued at $425 billion according to the New York Post, with the rest of the United States’ highly sought-after metal being stored in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Critics have called for greater transparency regarding the stash after it was revealed the top-secret locations are not subject to a yearly audit.

Paul said he has tried to get his eyes on the Ft. Knox gold for 10 years “to make sure it’s all there.”

WHY GOLD ETFS ARE AN ALTERNATIVE TO BONDS AS INFLATION LINGERS

Paul said he received permission to visit during the first Trump administration, but the trip did not materialize.

Then-Treasury Security Steven Mnuchin and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., visited the vaults in 2017. They reported that, despite various conspiracy theories, the gold was present.

Crypto investor Joe McCann discusses whether Bitcoin is an investment or currency on ‘Cavuto: Coast to Coast.’

“I didn’t get to go down, but the secretary of treasury and the senior senator from Kentucky did go down and attest that they believe they saw the gold down there.”

Prior to that, a congressional delegation and journalists were invited to view them in 1974 after claims of looting.

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February 17, 2025
Hegseth welcomes DOGE Pentagon audit, but says Defense is ‘not USAID’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is “welcome at the Pentagon,” telling reporters in Stuttgart, Germany, during his first overseas trip at the helm that the Department of Defense (DoD) will also be reviewing U.S. military posture globally to account for different “strategic assumptions” between President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden.

Upon arriving at the headquarters of U.S. European Command and Africa Command, Hegseth did push-ups, dead-lifts and other PT exercises with the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) – a gesture the secretary, a combat veteran himself, said was meant to interact with the troops directly and hear about their missions, rather than solely communicating through four-star generals.

Taking questions from reporters afterward, Hegseth, who has vowed to restore the “warrior ethos” at the Pentagon, addressed how Trump has called on NATO members to spend 5% of their GDPs on defense. Asked if the U.S. should also spend that amount, Hegseth said he and Trump share the view that U.S. defense spending should not go below 3% GDP, adding that the current administration ought to spend more than the Biden administration.

HEGSETH SAYS FORT BRAGG IS COMING BACK, BUT WITH A TWIST

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth talks to the media during his visit to the headquarters of U.S. European Command and Africa Command at the Africa Command at Kelly Barracks in Stuttgart Germany, on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Hegseth accused the Biden administration of having “historically underinvested in the capabilities of our military,” adding that Trump is committed to “rebuilding America’s military by investing.”

Asked if he expects Elon Musk to start unilaterally slashing defense programs, Hegseth described the DOGE leader as a “great patriot interested in advancing the America First agenda” who knows “Trump got 77 million votes in a mandate from the American people, and part of that is bringing actual businesslike efficiency to government.” Hegseth spoke of a “partnership” with DOGE to reduce Pentagon waste, agreeing with Musk’s assessment that it could be to the tune of “billions” of dollars.

But the secretary stressed that spending at the Pentagon did not equate to the “globalist agendas” pursued by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“As I said on social media, we welcome Doge to the Pentagon,” Hegseth said. “And I hope to welcome Elon to the Pentagon very soon. And his team working in collaboration with us.”

Hegseth said, “There are waste redundancies and headcounts in headquarters that need to be addressed. There’s just no doubt. Look at a lot of the climate programs that have been pursued at the Defense Department. The Defense Department is not in the business of climate change, solving the global thermostat. We’re in the business of deterring and winning wars. So things like that.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth participates in PT with the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne), a U.S. Army Special Forces battalion based in Stuttgart, Germany. (DefSec Hegseth on X)

NOEM, HEGSETH, BONDI PLEAD WITH CONGRESS FOR MORE BORDER FUNDING AMID LARGE-SCALE DEPORTATIONS

“There’s plenty of places where we want the keen eye of DOGE, but we’ll do it in coordination,” he added, pointing to potential changes in weapons procurement programs as well. “We’re not going to do things that are to the detriment of American operational or tactical capabilities… President Trump is committed to delivering the best possible military.”

“The Defense Department is not USAID,” Hegseth said. “USAID has got a lot of problems that I talked about with the troops – pursuing globalist agendas that don’t have a connection to America First. That’s not the Defense Department. But we’re also not perfect either. So where we can find billions of dollars, and he’s right to say billions inside the Defense Department, every dollar we save, there is a dollar that goes to warfighters. And that’s good for the American people.”

Hegseth was also asked if there were plans to shift U.S. forces from Europe to the Indo-Pacific to focus on the Chinese threat.

“There are no plans right now in the making to cut anything,” Hegseth said. “There is an understanding that we’re going to review force posture across the world.”

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“President Trump’s planning assumptions are different in many ways, or at least strategic assumptions, than Joe Biden’s,” he said. “We certainly don’t want a plan on the back of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. And what happened on October 7th and the war that was unleashed in Ukraine. You have to manage and mitigate those things by coming alongside your friends in Israel and sharing their defense, and peacefully resolving the conflict in Ukraine. But those shouldn’t define how we orient.”

On his decision to reverse Biden’s 2023 renaming of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, Hegseth said, “It means Bragg is back. It means the legacy of an institution that generations of Americans have mobilized through and served at is back.”

“I never called it Fort Liberty because it wasn’t Fort Liberty. It’s Fort Bragg. And so I was honored to be able to put my signature on that,” Hegseth said. The North Carolina base’s original namesake was Gen. Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general, but Hegseth said it would now be named after Pfc. Roland L. Bragg, a World War II hero who earned the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his courage during the Battle of the Bulge.

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 11, 2025
Elon Musk warns Federal Reserve may face DOGE audit

Varney & Co. host Stuart Varney reacts to Democrats attacks on Elon Musk over his federal budget cost-cutting efforts.

Billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday signaled that the Federal Reserve could face scrutiny as Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to audit federal agencies and spending.

Musk wrote on X in response to a user’s post about the billionaire’s support for an audit of the Fed that the central bank isn’t above scrutiny from DOGE.

“All aspects of the government must be fully transparent and accountable to the people. No exceptions, including, if not especially, the Federal Reserve,” Musk wrote.

Musk is a longtime critic of the central bank and has called out its decisions on monetary policy as well as claiming the Fed’s workforce is bloated.

POWELL PUSHES BACK ON MUSK’S CLAIM FED IS ‘ABSURDLY OVERSTAFFED’

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk warned the Federal Reserve could face an audit. (om Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images / Getty Images)

In May 2024, Musk posted that the “Fed has a crazy high number of employees.”

The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX also said last summer the Fed was too slow in cutting interest rates, writing on X in August that the Fed “needs to drop rates” and has been “foolish not to have done so already.”

The Fed would go on to cut rates in September in line with the market’s expectations, which it followed with further cuts in November and December.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS ELON MUSK’S DOGE FROM ACCESSING TREASURY RECORDS AFTER DEMOCRATIC AGS FILE LAWSUIT

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell pushed back on Musk’s claim that the central bank is “absurdly overstaffed.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Fed Chair Jerome Powell was asked about Musk’s recent claim that the central bank’s workforce is “absurdly overstaffed” at a press conference last month following the central bank’s decision to leave rates steady at the current range of 4.25% to 4.5%.

“We run a very careful budget process where we’re fully aware. We owe that to the public, and we believe we do that. I’ve got no further comment on that, thanks,” Powell responded to FOX Business’ Edward Lawrence.

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February 10, 2025
Noem supports getting rid of FEMA ‘the way it exists today’ amid Musk DOGE audit

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that she supported getting rid of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “the way it exists today.”

In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Noem’s stance appeared in line with that of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who have both suggested shutting down FEMA could be an option, as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has reportedly gained access to FEMA’s sensitive disaster relief data to review its programs.

“Can and should Donald Trump shut it down?” CNN’s Dana Bash asked Noem.

“He can. And I believe that he will do that evaluation with his team,” Noem said. “And he’s talking about it, which I’m grateful for. He’ll work with Congress, though, to make sure that it’s done correctly and that we’re still there to help folks who have a terrible disaster or a crisis in their life. He’s been very clear that he still believes there’s a role for the federal government to come in and help people get back up on their feet. But there’s a lot of fraud and waste and abuse out there. And since President Trump has taken over and come back into this administration, we’ve seen incredible change.”

NOEM RESPONDS TO SECRET SERVICE SCRUTINY AS TRUMP TO BECOME 1ST PRESIDENT TO ATTEND SUPER BOWL

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem delivers remarks to staff at DHS headquarters on Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Manuel Balce Ceneta-Pool/Getty Images)

Noem, who visited Asheville, North Carolina, on Saturday to meet with Hurricane Helene victims and survey the damage, told CNN that she oversaw 12 different natural disasters that prompted a FEMA response when she was governor of South Dakota.

As Trump considers block grants for state and local officials experiencing natural disasters, Noem said Sunday that she knew from experience that local officials, such as county emergency management directors, mayors, city council and commissioners “made way better decisions than the people in Washington, D.C.”

Asked what she would tell Trump if the president asked her to get rid of FEMA, Noem said, “I would say yes, get rid of FEMA the way it exists today.”

“We still need the resources and the funds and the finances to go to people that have these types of disasters like Hurricane Helene and the fires in California,” Noem told Bash. “But you need to let the local officials make the decisions on how that is deployed so it can be deployed much quicker. And we don’t need this bureaucracy that’s picking and choosing winners.”

White House border czar Tom Homan and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem outside the White House in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Noem said Trump “has been clear, too, that he still wants to help people,” but condemned FEMA for “targeting individuals, helping some people and not others.” The secretary appeared to be referencing how FEMA employees under former President Biden skipped homes in hurricane-ravaged areas that had displayed pro-Trump signs last year.

KRISTI NOEM HEADS TO ASHEVILLE AMID HEAVY CRITICISM OF FEMA RESPONSE UNDER BIDEN

Noem also referenced how Trump managed to close 80% of the open FEMA cases in North Carolina related to Hurricane Helene,” adding, “It’s amazing when you have somebody who cares … how quickly the response can be.”

The DHS secretary also defended Musk, as DOGE conducts an audit of federal agencies.

Trump established the FEMA Review Council last month to improve the agency after Hurricane Helene devastated places like Asheville, North Carolina. (Reuters/Marco Bello; AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“We’re working with them at the president’s direction to find what we can do to make our department much more efficient,” Noem said. “This is essentially an audit of the federal government…. And one of the things I’ve been very clear to the appropriators in the Senate and the House is please give me the authority to reprogram funds.”

Asked if she felt comfortable with Musk’s data access, Noem said, “Elon Musk is part of the administration that is helping us identify where we can find savings and what we can do. And he has gone through the processes to make sure that he has the authority. The president has appointed him. I am today by the work that he is doing, by identifying waste, fraud and abuse. And his information that he has is looking at programs, not focusing on personal data and information.”

After the interview, Musk posted to X on Monday morning that his DOGE team discovered that FEMA last week alone sent $59 million to “luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants.” Musk said that “sending this money violated the law and is in gross insubordination to the President’s executive order,” and, “that money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high end hotels for illegals!”

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“A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds,” Musk added.

Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X: @danimwallace.

February 10, 2025
Elon Musk alleges $50B in fraud at Treasury after judge blocks DOGE audit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unpacks the power tariffs have in world negotiations on ‘Kudlow.’

Elon Musk responded to a federal judge’s order temporarily blocking the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to sensitive Treasury Department data with a blitz of X posts alleging shocking levels of potential fraud.

The preliminary injunction issued Saturday by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer backed 19 Democratic state attorneys general who claimed that giving DOGE “full access” to the Treasury’s payment systems violates the law.

Engelmayer scheduled a Feb. 20 hearing, until which time DOGE will have diminished access to Treasury data that includes Americans’ Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits and tax refund information.

PALANTIR CEO TOUTS ELON MUSK’S DOGE, ABILITY TO HOLD ‘SACRED COW OF THE DEEP STATE’ ACCOUNTABLE

But Musk said DOGE had already found major problems with the way the Treasury Department was paying America’s bills before Engelmayer’s injunction.

“[Friday], I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious,” Musk wrote hours after the ruling.

“When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!! This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.”

SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall Oct. 26, 2024, in Lancaster, Pa. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The X, Tesla and SpaceX owner and Trump confidante also implied that previous Treasury officials blocked their employees from investigating waste.

“Nobody in Treasury management cared enough before,” Musk wrote. “I do want to credit the working level people in Treasury who have wanted to do this for many years, but have been stopped by prior management.”

One of the goals agreed upon by DOGE and the Treasury Department, Musk said, is to “require that all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code, which is necessary in order to pass financial audits.”

“This is frequently left blank, making audits almost impossible,” he added.

Musk also stressed that all Treasury payments “must also include a rationale for the payment in the comment field, which is currently left blank.”

ELON MUSK’S DOGE MAKES ANOTHER HIRING PUSH

The U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Importantly, we are not yet applying ANY judgment to this rationale, but simply requiring that SOME attempt be made to explain the payment more than NOTHING!” Musk wrote. “The DO-NOT-PAY list of entities known to be fraudulent or people who are dead or are probable fronts for terrorist organizations or do not match Congressional appropriations must actually be implemented and not ignored.

“Also, it can currently take up to a year to get on this list, which is far too long. This list should be updated at least weekly, if not daily,” the entrepreneur added. “The above super obvious and necessary changes are being implemented by existing, long-time career government employees, not anyone from @DOGE.”

Elon Musk on Capitol Hill Dec. 5, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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Musk added that it was “ridiculous that these changes didn’t exist already” and revealed he was recently told of massive waste in entitlement payments, to the tune of $1 billion per week.

“Everything at Treasury was geared towards complain[t] minimization,” he added. “People who receive money don’t complain, but people who don’t receive money (especially fraudsters) complain very loudly, so the fraud was allowed to continue.”

February 9, 2025