Follow us on social

'Humiliated': Pentagon fails 7th audit in a row

'Humiliated': Pentagon fails 7th audit in a row

The DOD has never passed the fiscal test, but has plenty of excuses as to why.

Reporting | QiOSK

Unable to account for the entirety of its more than $824 billion budget, the Pentagon has failed its seventh consecutive annual budget audit.

Technically, the Pentagon received a disclaimer of opinion, meaning it failed to provide auditors with sufficient data. Of the 28 reporting entities undergoing audits, 9 received an “unmodified” audit opinion, or a clean audit, 15 received disclaimers and thus did not pass, and another three are pending a final decision.

A final entity received a “qualified opinion,” meaning auditors claimed budget misstatements or omissions were present, but that the finances presented were still generally reliable.

Pentagon officials claim progress on budget transparency issues and aim to achieve a clean audit in 2028, as required by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. Indeed, Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer Michael McCord stressed that the Defense Department “has turned a corner in its understanding of the depth and breadth of its [financial] challenges,” despite the disclaimer of opinion received.

"The Department continues to need the sustained investment, senior leadership commitment, and the support of our partners in Congress, federal regulators, the audit community, and our military and civilian personnel to accomplish its audit goals," McCord said. “An unmodified audit opinion has always been the Department's primary financial management goal, and with their help, I know it is achievable."

Others aren’t convinced. “Our Pentagon can’t 'fully account' for a budget that’s worth over $824 billion after they fail their 7th consecutive audit,” Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett wrote on X. “They should be humiliated.”

Critically, the Pentagon, which only became legally obligated to complete audits in 2018, has never passed one. Furthermore, it was unable to sufficiently document 63% of its almost $4 trillion in assets last year. And yet, the chronically runaway Pentagon budget is only slated to grow. Namely, the 2025 defense budget’s expected to sit at just over $833 billion, which, while less than the originally proposed $849.8 billion budget, is still about $8.6 billion more than the current one.

Zooming out, U.S. involvement in conflicts overseas has only escalated as war continues in Ukraine and deepens in the Middle East. Ultimately, these conditions do little to promote or reflect defense budget accountability or restraint.


Top photo credit: An aerial view of the Pentagon, in Washington, District of Columbia. (TSGT ANGELA STAFFORD, USAF/public domain)
Reporting | QiOSK
US Marines
Top image credit: U.S. Marines with Force Reconnaissance Platoon, Maritime Raid Force, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepare to clear a room during a limited scale raid exercise at Sam Hill Airfield, Queensland, Australia, June 21, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Alora Finigan)

Cartels are bad but they're not 'terrorists.' This is mission creep.

Military Industrial Complex

There is a dangerous pattern on display by the Trump administration. The president and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth seem to hold the threat and use of military force as their go-to method of solving America’s problems and asserting state power.

The president’s reported authorization for the Pentagon to use U.S. military warfighting capacity to combat drug cartels — a domain that should remain within the realm of law enforcement — represents a significant escalation. This presents a concerning evolution and has serious implications for civil liberties — especially given the administration’s parallel moves with the deployment of troops to the southern border, the use of federal forces to quell protests in California, and the recent deployment of armed National Guard to the streets of our nation’s capital.

keep readingShow less
Howard Lutnick
Top photo credit: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on CNBC, 8/26/25 (CNBC screengrab)

Is nationalizing the defense industry such a bad idea?

Military Industrial Complex

The U.S. arms industry is highly consolidated, specialized, and dependent on government contracts. Indeed, the largest U.S. military contractors are already effectively extensions of the state — and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is right to point that out.

His suggestion in a recent media appearance to partially nationalize the likes of Lockheed Martin is hardly novel. The economist John Kenneth Galbraith argued for the nationalization of the largest military contractors in 1969. More recently, various academics and policy analysts have advocated for partial or full nationalization of military firms in publications including The Nation, The American Conservative, The Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), and The Seattle Journal for Social Justice.

keep readingShow less
Modi Trump
Top image credit: White House, February 2025

Trump's India problem could become a Global South crisis

Asia-Pacific

As President Trump’s second term kicked off, all signs pointed to a continued upswing in U.S.-India relations. At a White House press conference in February, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of his vision to “Make India Great Again” and how the United States under Trump would play a central role. “When it’s MAGA plus MIGA, it becomes a mega partnership for prosperity,” Modi said.

During Trump’s first term, the two populist leaders hosted rallies for each other in their respective countries and cultivated close personal ties. Aside from the Trump-Modi bromance, U.S.-Indian relations have been on a positive trajectory for over two decades, driven in part by mutual suspicion of China. But six months into his second term, Trump has taken several actions that have led to a dramatic downturn in U.S.-India relations, with India-China relations suddenly on the rise.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.