President <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/donald-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a> vowed to check on <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/1860732/man-found-dead-in-lake-on-fort-knox-army-base/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Donald Trump">Fort Knox</a> to ensure that its gold stockpiles are still present, despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s reassurances that everything is where it should be.

Fort Knox is a military base best known for housing the majority of the United States’s gold reserves. The task is likely to be carried out by <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/Elon-Musk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Elon Musk</a>‘s Department of Government Efficiency — the billionaire first proposed the idea earlier this week. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3292730/all-executive-orders-actions-trump-first-day/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FULL LIST OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS, ACTIONS, AND PROCLAMATIONS TRUMP HAS MADE AS PRESIDENT</a> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="100%" height="auto" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Fort-Knox.webp" alt="" class="wp-image-3324784" srcset="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Fort-Knox.webp 1024w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Fort-Knox-300x235.webp 300w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Fort-Knox-768x602.webp 768w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Fort-Knox-150x117.webp 150w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Fort-Knox-696x545.webp 696w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">First U.S. Cavalry Mechanised, guarding the unloading of a gold truck at the gold vault at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 1937. (AP Photo)</figcaption></figure> “We’re going to go into Fort Knox to make sure the gold is still there,” President Donald Trump told reporters in response to a question about possible budget cuts for the Pentagon. “We hope everything is fine with Fort Knox, the fabled Fort Knox, but we’re going to go to Fort Knox and make sure the gold is still there.” “If the gold isn’t there, we’re going to be very upset,” Trump added. The U.S. closed the vaults of the Fort Knox Bullion Depository to the public in 1974, leading to speculation and conspiracy theories about whether some of the gold had been removed. Sen. <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/Mitch-McConnell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">Mitch McConnell</a> (R-KY) led a congressional delegation into the vault in 2017. Dan O’Donnell, a talk show host in Wisconsin, asked Bessent about the possibility that the gold could be missing. “We do an audit every year. All the gold is present and accounted for,” Bessent said, adding that he would be happy to arrange for a trip for Trump and Musk to see the vault for themselves. Musk has enthusiastically boosted the issue in recent days, going so far as to express his wish for a livestream of a visit to the vault. <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">A livestream of Fort Knox would be ???????? <a href="https://t.co/hFJXMnEjvy">pic.twitter.com/hFJXMnEjvy</a>— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1892422930274881918?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
</div></figure> <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER</a> A full audit of Fort Knox’s gold reserves by the Treasury, something long called for by Republicans, could also have another major implication. MarketWatch <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-talking-about-auditing-fort-knox-it-might-be-a-750-billion-maneuver-de77315b" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="noted">noted</a> that a full audit could lead to a revaluation of its holdings, giving the Treasury another $750 billion, according to one estimate. The gold reserves are on the book for $42 an ounce while gold is currently trading at a record high of roughly $3,000 per ounce. Congress would have to approve an increase in the official price of gold if the move were to be undertaken, however.

Trump vowed to send a team to visit Fort Knox, the military base best known for housing the majority of the nation's gold reserves.{ai:summary}President Trump announced plans to visit Fort Knox to verify the presence of the U.S. gold reserves, despite Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's assurances. The visit may involve Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk has suggested could be livestreamed.Concerns about Fort Knox's gold stockpile have persisted since the vaults were closed to the public in 1974. A full audit could potentially revalue the gold reserves significantly, but any increase in the official gold price would require congressional approval. #economy