Elon Musk gives four-word reaction to Joe Rogan's discussion on DOGE probe into Pentagon's alleged $35 trillion debt

Elon Musk has often been praised by Joe Rogan for his work as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has now put forth a four-word response to Rogan's assessment of the expected extensive DOGE investigation into The Pentagon's alleged $35 trillion debt.

The DOGE is a new department, formed under the current U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump and Musk have consistently maintained that DOGE strives for government efficiency; cutting unnecessary costs, corruption in government agencies, etc. Per CBS News, DOGE aims to cut down on federal spending.

On episode #2272 of The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast in February 2025, veteran UFC color commentator hosted Mike Benz. The latter is an ex-U.S. Department of State official, who's been working as the Executive Director for free speech watchdog, Foundation For Freedom Online.

Among other topics, they spoke about the allegedly deep-seated corruption in the U.S. government system. Seemingly speculating about whether President Trump's four-year term would be sufficient to correct the system, MMA personality Rogan said:

"It's so deep that it makes you wonder, 'Is there enough time in four years to unravel this stuff?'"

Mike Benz responded by saying:

"Oh, no, not four years. This is a 50-year project ... This is the first serious time in American history that the foreign policy establishment has had to be accountable to the people who pay for it. Even the Church Committee didn't cause the entire shutdown of a federal agency ... This is in every way, symbolically, operationally, financially, the hardest blow the blob has ever had to suffer in terms of accountability. And it's only getting way deeper from here."

Benz later appeared to reference a past report, addressing the alleged $35 trillion accounting black hole in the finances of The Pentagon (a metonym for the U.S. Department of Defense):

"Yahoo Finance published this a couple years ago -- a $35 trillion black hole ... That's larger than the entire national debt."

Watch Rogan and Benz discuss the topic below (1:48:30 and 1:52:52):

Elon Musk, who's regarded as the public face of DOGE and has been serving as a senior advisor to the president, weighed in on it. Issuing a response to a video clip from Rogan and Benz's aforementioned conversation on X, Musk suggested that DOGE has indeed made positive changes:

"Good progress so far"

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Joe Rogan and Elon Musk discussed DOGE on the JRE podcast

Joe Rogan hosted Elon Musk on episode #2281 of the JRE podcast in February 2025. They highlighted issues like the alleged funding of NGOs that utilize grants for purposes other than those officially claimed. Musk also implied that the government could do a better job at handling its mammoth debt and fund management. Meanwhile, Rogan said:

"So, essentially, we're like a poorly managed business with an unlimited credit line that is off the rails."

Elon Musk concurred. Joe Rogan then signaled that Musk's entrepreneurial experience could enable him to help the U.S. government rectify its supposed financial inefficiencies via DOGE.

Watch Rogan and Musk address the topic below: