Khanna says Democrats will work with Musk's DOGE on cutting defense budget

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Monday suggested that Democrats could work with tech billionaire Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) on cutting the defense budget.

The issue came up during an interview Khanna gave to CNN anchor Jim Acosta, who noted the new efficiency panel.

President-elect Trump named Musk and former GOP presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to be the heads of the government efficiency effort.

Acosta asked Khanna if those two should have that much sway over “what stays and what goes in the federal government.”

“Well, ultimately, they’re gonna provide recommendations,” Khanna replied on “CNN Newsroom.”

He then said the two could provide input and there could be bipartisan collaboration on defense.

He criticized “waste, fraud and abuse” in the defense budget and said the Defense Department “has failed the last six or seven audits.”

Khanna also posted a clip of his CNN appearance from Monday morning on social platform X.

“When it comes to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse and opening the 5 primes to more competition, there are Democrats on [House Armed Services Committee] who will work with @elonmusk and @DOGE,” Khanna said in the post.

“Cool!” Musk replied to Khanna’s post on X.

Earlier this month, Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy would serve as the heads of DOGE, which aims to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures” and restructure federal agencies.

DOGE would “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” and work alongside the White House Office of Management and Budget, the president-elect said.

“It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump added. “Republican politicians have dreamed about the objectives of ‘DOGE’ for a very long time.”

The Hill has reached out to the Defense Department for comment.