MAGA-aligned U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN), who is reportedly eyeing a run in the 2026 Tennessee gubernatorial election, complained about “the Pentagon’s reckless spending” after leaving a House Oversight & Accountability Committee meeting.
As seen in the video below, Burchett said: “I believe it’s endangering us fiscally and endangering men and women with these worthless programs we keep putting out. Defense systems that are mothballed the day they come up for reduction, and the reason they’re reduced is because they’re in some powerful legislator’s district and doggonit members of Congress own stock in these companies, and it’s just corruption. It’s wrong.”
The Pentagon is wasting your money because Congress lets them. The only branch to pass an audit is the @USMC pic.twitter.com/zjIgA1y8Jb
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) April 29, 2025
Burchett captioned the video: “The Pentagon is wasting your money because Congress lets them. The only branch to pass an audit is the @USMC.”
“God bless the Marine Corps,” said Burchett, “they’re the own branch that passes the audit. And daddy would be very proud of that.”
[Burchett’s late father, Charles Burchett, served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.]
Burchett promised his constituents that he’ll “keep fighting, keep calling them out. That’s why I make a lot of powerful enemies when I call out these folks.” He added, “This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue, this is just hogs in a trough.”
Burchett’s point about not being a Republican or Democratic issue sees evidence in proceedings this week as House Democrats John Garamendi (CA) and Adam Smith (WA) are also protesting what they’re referring to as “a $150 billion slush fund for the military.”