Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has urged President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency to conduct an audit of the U.S. gold reserves stored at Fort Knox. This recommendation came after Elon Musk, who was appointed to oversee DOGE by Trump, responded to an X user’s suggestion to verify the 4,580 tons of gold that are said to be housed at the site. The user pointed out that the last inspection took place in 1974.
Musk, in his response, asked, “Surely it’s reviewed at least every year?” to which Senator Paul replied on Sunday morning, “Nope. Let’s do it.”
Fort Knox, located south of Louisville, holds an estimated $425 billion worth of gold. However, the U.S. government currently values the gold at $42.22 per ounce, a far cry from the nearly $2,900 per troy ounce it is trading at today. The U.S. Mint reports that Fort Knox contains at least 147.3 million ounces of gold—approximately 9.2 million pounds—representing half of the nation’s gold reserves.
Despite its value, the significance of Fort Knox has diminished since the U.S. abandoned the gold standard in 1971, and the gold has since become another asset for the Federal Reserve. The exact timing of the last thorough audit of the vault remains unclear, and conspiracy theories have circulated since the 1970s, suggesting the government may have sold off the gold.
Former Congressman Ron Paul, Senator Paul’s father, has long advocated for greater transparency regarding the nation’s gold reserves. In 2010, he introduced legislation that would require an audit of Fort Knox. “My attitude is, let’s just find out what’s there,” Ron Paul stated at the time, as reported by CBS News.
In 1974, following rumors that the gold had been looted, a group of reporters and lawmakers was allowed to tour the facility. Then, in 2017, during President Trump’s first term, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senator Mitch McConnell were among the officials granted access to view the gold, which was confirmed to be intact. Recently, Elon Musk voiced his support for Ron Paul taking the role of chair at the Federal Reserve.
{Matzav.com}
