US defense chief welcomes Elon Musk to cut costs at Pentagon

WASHINGTON

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reiterated Tuesday that he welcomes tech-billionaire Elon Musk to cut spending at the Pentagon.

"We welcome DOGE to the Pentagon, and I hope to welcome Elon to the Pentagon very soon, and his team, working in collaboration with us," Hegseth said, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

During his first visit overseas, Hegseth gathered with reporters in Stuttgart, Germany, where he was visiting senior military leaders at the US European Command and the US Africa Command headquarters, as well as service members.

Calling Musk "a great patriot," Hegseth said: "There are waste, redundancies and head counts in headquarters that need to be addressed."

He added that the Pentagon is not in the business of climate change, solving the global thermostat. "We're in the business of deterring and winning wars."

His remarks came amid Trump’s freeze on the budget for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) -- the agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and assistance -- claiming it misallocated funds and a lack of alignment with his “America First” policy. More than one judge has suspended the funding freezes, calling them illegal.

Trump voiced plans to task Musk with auditing the Pentagon and the Education Department, although Musk is also a recipient of Defense Department contracts, which would seem to present a conflict of interest.

"The Defense Department is not U.S. AID," said Hegseth.

"U.S. AID has got a lot of problems ... pursuing globalist agendas that don't have a connection to America First. That's not the Defense Department, but we're also not perfect either," he added.