Veteran leftist politician and veteran Democratic senator Bernie Sanders rarely shifted to support billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday (December 1), highly praising his proposed defense spending cuts under the government efficiency department led by President-elect Trump, agreeing to reform the $886 billion defense budget. Following the news, Dogecoin surged during the Asian session on Monday, reaching a high of $0.4592.
Trump announced that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would jointly lead the government efficiency department, aiming to cut excessive regulations, reduce wasteful spending, and propose restructuring of federal agencies. Recently, Musk has expressed many opinions on Twitter, including the issue of the Department of Defense failing its audit for the seventh time. He also hinted that the government efficiency department 'will improve the effectiveness of defense spending.'
Sanders posted on Twitter: 'Musk is right. The Department of Defense's budget is $886 billion and has failed its audit for the seventh consecutive time. It has lost track of how many billions it has. In 2023, only 13 senators voted against the military-industrial complex and the defense budget filled with waste and fraud. This situation must change.'
In response to Sanders' post, Musk sent two American flag emojis.
Recently, Musk has been vocally calling for a shift in military strategy, advocating for the use of drones and artificial intelligence (AI) to replace traditional fighter jets.
He criticized the F-35 program, advocating for drones to replace manned aircraft. Musk stated that manned aircraft like the F-35 are outdated, prompting a defense from the Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin, who emphasized that despite cost overruns and delays, there is still strong global demand for the aircraft.
Musk's remarks align with his broad concerns about government overspending and fiscal responsibility.
Notably, Sanders' statement this time is seen as a very rare shift. Previously, Musk and Sanders had a contentious exchange. In November 2021, Musk had a spat with Sanders after the senator called for the rich to pay their 'fair share' of taxes.
Sanders said, 'We must demand that the extremely wealthy pay their fair share.'
Musk mockingly remarked at that time: 'I keep forgetting you're still alive, do you want me to sell more (Tesla) stocks, Bernie? Just say the word...'
Before this year's election, Sanders has been outspoken in criticizing Musk. Earlier this year, he criticized Tesla for donating to Trump's campaign while advocating for publicly funded elections.
With Sanders' shift, Musk's government efficiency department has once again become a trending topic on Twitter, which further boosted the surge of Dogecoin, similar to the department's acronym.
