On Friday, a day after the audit's findings were publicized, the Pentagon confirmed that it could not provide the public with "reasonable assurance" on how its spends taxpayers' money, with major problems found in various departments' accounting practices, including pervasive misstatements on spending, the identification of inventory which didn't actually exist in the real world, issues with contractors' recordkeeping, and the purchase of millions of dollars of equipment which is then stored unused in DoD warehouses.
Others were not as optimistic, however, with everyone from politicians and journalists to ordinary Americans venting their frustrations on the Pentagon's bloated state on Twitter.
"This is exactly why we must #AuditThePentagon," Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee tweeted. "The unchecked waste, fraud, and abuse at the Pentagon is an insult to the American people," she stressed.
Other politicians, Republican and Democrat alike, chimed in with similar commentary, voicing concerns and trying to take the credit for the audit initiative, which was one of President Trump's campaign pledges in 2016.
Some users suggested that the egregious waste was an example of Washington's misplaced priorities, pointing out that just a fraction of what is spent on defence could easily fund other important programs, such as healthcare.
Others were simply baffled by the Pentagon's nonchalant approach, saying officials were treating it "as if failing an audit is no big deal," and pointing out that for ordinary Americans, failing an audit could mean jail time.
Some users were concerned about the price tag of the audit itself.
Finally, a few took a less serious, more sarcastic approach, saying findings of waste at the Pentagon weren't exactly a surprise.