Pentagon fails eighth audit, targets 2028 to pass, pentagon says

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - For the eighth year in a row, the Pentagon has failed as annual audit, the Department of Defense said on Friday, continuing a pattern of financial accountability problems that have drawn bipartisan criticism and emerged as a campaign issue.

"The Department cannot resolve decades of war, neglect of America's defense industrial base, and soaring national debt through unchecked spending." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a statement released with the audit.