Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) weighed in on the Pentagon’s embarrassing accounting, admitting that tech billionaire Elon Musk “is right.”

The former presidential candidate left many wondering if hell had frozen over as he appeared to be on the same page as the man set to co-lead President-elect Donald Trump’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“Elon Musk is right,” Sanders began a post on Sunday on X.

“The Pentagon, with a budget of $886 billion, just failed its 7th audit in a row. It’s lost track of billions,” he added.

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.

Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud.

That must change.

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 1, 2024

As reported in November, Undersecretary of Defense Michael McCord, comptroller and chief financial officer for the Pentagon, detailed how the Defense Department couldn’t account for how a budget in excess of $800 billion had been spent.

“Last year, only 13 senators voted against the Military Industrial Complex and a defense budget full of waste and fraud,” Sanders continued his post. “That must change.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) criticized the defense budget’s “waste, fraud and abuse” during a CNN interview, adding that the Pentagon “has failed the last six or seven audits.”

The California Democrat suggested his colleagues could work with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in the incoming DOGE to cut the defense budget.

“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 wrote in a post that included a clip of his interview.

“Cool!” Musk responded to the post.

Cool! https://t.co/5WiVyOHAw6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 25, 2024

Back in September, Musk revealed, “I really am with Bernie on this one,” in response to the senator’s post saying, “Elon Musk is right about solving obesity.”

Though he noted that Musk is “not one of my great political allies,” Sanders went on to quote the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s remarks that solving obesity reduces the risk of diseases.

Nevertheless, Sanders’ latest alignment with Musk raised plenty of eyebrows and sparked comments on X including from former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz who wrote, “Welcome home, Bernie.”

Welcome home, Bernie

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) December 1, 2024

Has hell frozen over?

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 1, 2024

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.

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 1, 2024

Welcome to Team Reality.

— Dr. Simon Goddek (@goddeketal) December 1, 2024

I didn’t have Bernie being based on my 2024 bingo card!

— Wendy O (@CryptoWendyO) December 2, 2024

When the biggest billionaire hater can agree with the world’s wealthiest person who is part of the Trump administration on the desire to clean up the government, you know we’re on the right path.

— Leftism (@LeftismForU) December 1, 2024

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Frieda Powers

Senior Staff Writer
Frieda@bizpacreview.com

Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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