US President Donald Trump said he expects Elon Musk to uncover billions of dollars in fraud and abuses at the US Department of Defense during the audit he will lead as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.

"I'm going to tell him very soon, maybe within 24 hours, to go and audit the Education Department... and then the military. Let's audit the military," Trump said in an interview with Fox News, an excerpt of which was aired Sunday morning, according to Reuters.

“We will find fraud and abuse of billions and hundreds of millions of dollars,” Trump said of the Defense Department, the largest US department.

The Defense Department’s budget is approaching $1 trillion annually. In December, former President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing $895 billion in defense spending for the fiscal year ending September 30.

Trump has tasked billionaire Musk, who the White House says is a private government employee, with leading an effort to shrink the federal government workforce. As part of the initiative, Musk’s aides sought to access classified information on computer systems at various government agencies.

Critics say the effort is likely illegal, risks revealing classified information and would in practice eliminate entire agencies without congressional approval.

National Security Adviser Mike Walz said in a separate interview Sunday that the Department of Government Efficiency may pay special attention to the Defense Department's shipbuilding operations.

"There's a lot to look at with shipbuilding, it's an absolute mess," Waltz told NBC.