ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to continue searching for what he called government "waste, fraud and abuse," dismissing calls to slow down or halt his drive to shut down or defund agencies he accuses of wasting taxpayer money.

“Billions of Dollars of FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE, has already been found in the investigation of our incompetently run Government,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

He accused “certain activists and highly political judges” of attempting to derail his efforts, claiming that losing momentum would be “very detrimental to finding the TRUTH.” He added: “Much left to find. No Excuses!!!”

The remarks come amid Trump’s freeze on the US Agency for International Development (USAID) budget, claiming misallocated funds and a lack of alignment with his “America First” policy. More than one judge has suspended his funding freezes, calling them illegal.

Trump recently voiced plans to task Elon Musk, a key ally and head of the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, with auditing the Pentagon and Education Department, although Musk is also a recipient of Defense Department contracts, which would seem to present a conflict of interest.

Trump said the audits will uncover “billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse.”

Musk, one of Trump’s biggest campaign donors, is leading efforts to cut federal spending, but critics say he has failed to produce any hard evidence of waste or fraud, choosing instead to brand agencies “criminal” and shutting them down without any review or congressional vote.

Since the agencies were created by votes of Congress, under the law, a congressional vote is also needed to defund them or shut them down.