Pentagon prepares potential cuts for Elon Musk’s DOGE, WSJ reports

(Reuters) – Some parts of the U.S. military are preparing lists of weapons programs they have long wanted to cancel in a bid to get ahead of what could be drastic cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Members of DOGE are expected at the Defense Department as soon as Friday, WSJ said, citing defense officials.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said that he had already been in touch with Musk and expressed confidence in the effort to find billions in cost-cutting and to make the Pentagon more efficient.

“There’s plenty of places (at the Pentagon) where we want the keen eye of DOGE, but we’ll do it in coordination,” Hegseth said.

U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier said he expected Elon Musk to find hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse at the Pentagon during an audit that the billionaire will lead.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson)