President Donald Trump suggested Sunday that the U.S. may have less debt than previously thought, citing possible fraud in debt payments.
Speaking aboard Air Force One while traveling to the Super Bowl, Trump highlighted the issue as part of a broader effort to uncover wasteful government spending.
"We're even looking at Treasuries," Trump said to reporters on Sunday. "There could be a problem - you've been reading about that, with Treasuries and that could be an interesting problem."
He said some of the things that Elon Musk and DOGE are finding are "very fraudulent" without going into specifics.
The Treasury reported $36.2 trillion in outstanding public debt, according to Reuters.
In October of last year, the interest on the national debt topped $1 trillion for the first time during fiscal 2024.
In December, Trump called for abolishing the debt limit saying the move would be the "smartest thing [Congress] could do."
"I would support that entirely," Trump said to NBC News.
Billionaire Elon Musk's government efficiency team has been auditing federal agencies, and causing widespread disruptions as a result, leading Time Magazine to satirically dub him as "President Elon Musk."
