Bessent warns 10% of federal spending lost to fraud per year

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over the weekend warned that 5-10% of federal spending was lost to fraud each year

"Benefits have been turned into businesses," Bessent said in an interview with conservative journalist Christopher Rufo and Lomez. When pressed on the prospect of fraud ranging between $300 billion and $600 billion, Bessent pointed to data from the Government Accountability Office.

"It's about 10% of the federal budget," he said. "If we can get rid of this waste, fraud, and abuse, we can finance a safer U.S. with that."

"I was in 100% alignment with Elon [Musk] on waste, fraud, and abuse," he said, explaining that he supported a more methodical approach to dealing with fraud than did the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.