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Cotton blasts DoD for focusing on ‘pronouns’ after Pentagon spectacularly fails comprehensive audit: ‘Ridiculous!’

November 18, 2022 | | Print Article

The U.S. Pentagon has, for the fourth time, failed its comprehensive audit of more than $3.2 trillion in assets and another $3 trillion in liabilities. It can’t seem to account for approximately 61% of its assets and, according to Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), “the right pronouns” may have something to do with it.

(Video: Fox News)

Roughly 1,200 auditors visited 278 sites and made 1,069 virtual visits to test “the systems and record-keeping processes on weapons systems, military personnel and property around the world,” Reuters reported.

Twenty-six standalone audits were conducted. Of them, just eight units — the same number as last year — were expected to receive “clean opinions.”

The Pentagon’s CFO, Mike McCord, claimed this result was evidence of “steady progress.”

“The department continues to make steady progress toward achieving a favorable audit opinion,” he stated.

“As the audits mature and testing expands, Department of Defense leaders expect findings to increase in number and complexity,” the Pentagon added, explaining that future audits could expose more profound problems.

Fox News’ “Ingraham Angle” host, Laura Ingraham, called the audit failure “ridiculous.”

“So I mean, I know, again, Republicans, the Pentagon can do no wrong,” she told Sen. Cotton on Thursday night’s show. “I’m sorry, but that’s what a lot of Republicans seem to think. They can’t account for 61% of their assets? Are you going to lead the charge on this from the Senate? This is ridiculous!”

Cotton credited former President Donald Trump for insisting on the audits and said Congress should immediately “build upon this audit.”

“So, Laura, the reason we finally know this is that during the Trump era — the Trump administration, Congress insisted that the Department of Defense finally go through with these kind of audits, and we ought not wait until 2024 and a new presidential election,” he stated. “We should start right now, build upon this audit, make sure the DOD is getting good value for our taxpayers.”

“I mean, right now, you have almost as many civilians in the Department of Defense as you have troops,” the Senator noted. “We also need to make sure the focus is where it should be, which is making sure that our troops have the best equipment and training to defend our nation, not that our drill sergeants are using the right pronouns.”

As American Wire reported in September, the Pentagon’s budget for next year fell short on service members’ compensation, leaving many soldiers struggling just to make ends meet amid soaring cost of living expenses.

Even as some servicemembers a finding it difficult to stay afloat, the DOD slashed the pay for some and suggested others sign up for federal assistance programs.

“With inflation affecting everything from gas prices to groceries to rent, some Soldiers and their families are finding it harder to get by on the budgets they’ve set and used before,” Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael A. Grinston said in August, adding that food stamps are available.

Meanwhile, as soldiers wonder where their next meal is coming from, the DoD has been pushing for diversity, equity, and inclusion, claiming these “are necessities in U.S. military.”

So, as Cotton told Ingraham on Thursday, “there’s a lot of room for oversight in the new Congress of the Department of Defense.”

Melissa Fine
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