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To review the largest gold reserves in the United States.
A libertarian Twitter account with 2 million followers requested that the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) focus on verifying the US gold reserves at Fort Knox to ensure it is still stored there.
Musk wondered why the gold supply wasn't reviewed annually, sparking speculation that he might investigate the military base with its heavily fortified vault containing a large amount of U.S. gold.
Upon assuming office, Musk acquired significant influence, and with it, he has identified several government agencies as areas to cut spending in order to reduce what he perceives as wasteful government expenditure.
He fully dismantled USAID, resulting in the termination or suspension of over 10,000 employees, and drastically reduced funding in agencies such as the Department of Education, while also dismissing four top financial officials at FEMA.
It would be great if Elon Musk could verify the 4,580 tons of US gold at Fort Knox to confirm its presence," the libertarian Zero Hedge news aggregator account suggested on X. "The last time anyone inspected the gold was 50 years ago, in 1974.
Musk replied: 'It must be reviewed at least every year.'
Senator Paul of Kentucky, a Republican, responded with a 'no' and challenged Mr. Musk, requesting that his DOGE staff conduct an audit of the Fort Knox Army base's reserves.
The Bullion Depository stores approximately 147 million troy ounces of gold, accounting for more than half of the gold held by the U.S. federal government, which is equivalent to 56.35 percent of the total.
The United States Mint Police are responsible for safeguarding the gold reserve.
Gold reserves in the United States, similar to all gold reserves, serve as a financial safeguard against economic uncertainty.
It holds tangible value and helps protect against inflation by maintaining public trust in the nation's currency, even though the gold standard is no longer used in the economy.
Although the X post implies that the last inspection of the gold reserves was conducted in 1974, it is also mentioned that there was another inspection in August 2017, when Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky led a small group, including then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, to the vault.
A few very grainy black and white images of Mnuchin in the vault were released after the visit in front of what the public is shown to be gold bars.
Mnuchin was the first head of the Treasury to visit the depository since 1948.
The initial inspection of the vault took place in 1943 by President Franklin Roosevelt at a time when the US was recovering from the Great Depression and embroiled in World War II.
The 1974 inspection was conducted in response to a conspiracy theory circulating at the time, which suggested that elites had secretly removed the gold and that the vaults were actually empty.
Congressional members and journalists joined a tour conducted by the U.S. Mint Director at the time in order to demonstrate to the public that the gold was still present.
Elon Musk and his team from DOGE have been on a campaign over the past month to make cuts to federal spending and ensure that federal government funds are utilized more effectively from taxpayers' money.
This involves halting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and terminating funding for these initiatives across federal departments.
Additionally, government contracts with private firms were canceled that involved diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.
There is speculation that DOGE could cut off funding to other agencies following the complete closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) earlier this month.
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