Ex-US govt. official tells Joe Rogan why Donald Trump allegedly asked Elon Musk and DOGE to work on exposing the Pentagon: "They have a $900B budget"

Former U.S. Department of State government official Mike Benz claimed on the Joe Rogan podcast that Donald Trump tasked Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with uncovering alleged financial mismanagement within the Pentagon. Benz suggested that the Pentagon, with its $900 billion budget, is the largest federal agency, overshadowing others like USAID and the CIA.

Benz revealed reports of a $35 trillion accounting discrepancy, raising concerns about waste, fraud, and abuse. DOGE, a Musk-led initiative, has already made sweeping cuts to federal programs. It recently terminated nearly $1 billion in Education Department research contracts, dismantling the Institute of Education Sciences and halting various research projects.

DOGE also canceled 29 diversity, equity, and inclusion training grants totaling $101 million. Experts criticized the move, arguing it weakens the government’s ability to assess education policies.

Benz linked USAID’s creation to Pentagon-related humanitarian efforts, suggesting its funding has historically been misused. He implied that the Pentagon’s financial operations remain largely unchecked compared to other federal agencies. Speaking on episode #2272 of the Joe Rogan Experience, Benz said:

"President Trump tasked Elon Musk with siccing the Doge dogs on the Pentagon. Depending on how you measure it the size of waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon ranges from a couple hundred billion. They are the biggest federal agency in all this. They have a $900 billion budget compared to only $44 billion at USAID and even less at CIA.”

Benz added:

“Yahoo Finance published this a couple years ago... a $35 trillion black hole... That’s larger than the entire national debt, just the black hole in the size of the accounting budget of the Pentagon over the years... When America was born in 1789, the first meeting of Congress, there were only three agencies created—the Department of State, the Department of Treasury, and the Department of War. The Department of War became the Department of Defense in 1948.”

Check out Mike Benz's comments below (1:52:25):

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Joe Rogan talks about "most offensive things" to Americans amid financial mismanagement allegations

Recent discussions and DOGE revelations have raised concerns about financial mismanagement in the U.S. government, particularly regarding Pentagon expenditures.

Reports suggest billions were allocated to questionable projects, while essential aid was withheld from those in need. Allegations include waste, fraud, and a massive accounting gap of $35 trillion. Meanwhile, USAID, initially created for humanitarian efforts, has been linked to military operations. Shedding light on the discrepancies and his concern with the revelations on the aforementioned episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan said:

“One of the most offensive things to Americans is that all this money was being spent while they were denying money to people who clearly needed it. Particularly victims of natural disasters like Maui."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments below: