Ro Khanna supports cutting defense spending in Trump's DOGE

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said that there could be “huge bipartisan cooperation” for President-elect Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) committee in the new year – at least when it comes to cutting defense spending.

“I think when it comes to defense, getting better defense for value and cutting costs, there can be huge bipartisan cooperation,” Khanna said in a Sunday morning ABC appearance.

Trump has named billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, two of his close campaign allies, to lead DOGE.  

Musk has been highly critical of defense spending.

“Our defense budget is pretty gigantic. It’s a trillion dollars,” he said at an event last month. “The interest we owe on the debt is now higher than the defense budget. This is not sustainable.” 

And in a post on X, Musk pointed to concerns about the F-35 fighter jet program, which has long faced scrutiny for its high cost, production delays and unreliability. 

But there are other areas where Democrats and Musk and Ramaswamy seem likely to battle over DOGE.

The two entrepreneurs have discussed using DOGE to cut $2 trillion annually in spending, something that would be nearly impossible to do.

“These guys are going to get their eyes open,” one Republican lawmaker, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told The Hill after a meeting Musk and Ramaswamy held with Republicans last week.