Pentagon Fails Eighth Audit as Financial Woes Worsen Under Hegseth

For the eighth year in a row, the Pentagon has failed its annual audit, the Department of Defense said, continuing a pattern of financial accountability problems that critics say have worsened under Defense Secretary Peter Hegseth, Mike Stone reported for Reuters.

Democrats have called for Hegseth’s resignation over allegations that he released classified information through a Signal chat group, withheld weapons shipments to Ukraine, and authorized the killing of survivors of attacks on suspected narcotics boats. (Photo: U.S. Department of War)

The Pentagon’s fiscal problems have become fodder for bipartisan criticism and have emerged as a campaign issue against President Donald Trump, Hegseth and Republicans.

Hegseth is also under fire over the killings of 99 fishermen and unarmed boat crew members in the Caribbean and the Pacific, all of whom were labeled drug smugglers without evidence.

“The Department cannot resolve decades of war, neglect of America’s defense industrial base, and soaring national debt through unchecked spending,” Hegseth said in a statement released alongside the audit.

Democrats have called for Hegseth’s resignation over allegations that he released classified information through a Signal chat group, withheld weapons shipments to Ukraine, and authorized the killing of survivors of attacks on suspected narcotics boats.

Critics argue that such actions amount to unlawful killings, since U.S. operations in the Caribbean are not formally authorized by Congress.