Pentagon Fails 8th Audit in a Row as Congress Grants It $1 Trillion Budget

"The Department of Defense identified issues with tracking funds for programs like its F-35 fighter jet program, the Pentagon's most expensive project with a cost of over $2 trillion over the past few decades. The authors of the department's annual financial report, released Friday, identified 26 material weaknesses within the department's internal controls - referring to severe issues among the agency's accounting that could lead to major misstatements in financial reports."

"Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office found in a report that one reason is that the agency faces "significant fraud exposure" from military contractors, who engage in brazen and open price gouging. The Pentagon has also historically been unable to account for its assets. This year, the Pentagon reported having $4.65 trillion in assets, but trillions of dollars' worth of this may be in limbo; as of 2022, the Pentagon was unable to keep track of over 60 percent of its assets."

The Pentagon failed its annual audit for the eighth consecutive year. Congress granted the Department of Defense a $1 trillion budget for 2026. The department identified issues tracking funds for programs such as the F-35 fighter jet, its most expensive project costing over $2 trillion. The annual financial report identified 26 material weaknesses in internal controls that could cause major financial misstatements and pledged to pass an audit by 2028. The Government Accountability Office reported significant fraud exposure from military contractors engaging in price gouging. The Pentagon reported $4.65 trillion in assets but could not account for over 60 percent as of 2022.

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