What if there’s actually *more* gold than reported in Fort Knox and the NY Federal Reserve vault, and the reason we haven’t audited it in 50 years is because the US Government would have to explain where and when we got it all.

CBS — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Sunday urged the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to probe a stash of gold reserves at a U.S. military base.

Sen. Paul responded to an exchange on X between Musk and another user. The user had posted "it would be great if [Musk] could take a look inside Fort Knox just to make sure the 4,580 tons of US gold is there."

There is approximately 147.3 million troy ounces of gold stored at Fort Knox, according to the U.S. Mint. The agency notes on its website roughly half of the U.S. Treasury's stored gold is kept at the military base.

The U.S. Mint says the book value of the gold is $42.22 per ounce. With the exception of small amounts used to test purity, no gold has been transferred to or from the depository at Fort Knox in "many years," according to the agency's website.

Sen. Paul doubled down on his call during an appearance on "Fox & Friends" Monday. The senator declared "the more sunlight, the better."

"And also, it brings attention to the fact that gold still has value and implicitly, not explicitly, but implicitly, gold still gives value to the dollar," he said.

Sen. Paul's father pressed government officials on the gold reserves at Fort Knox while serving as a congressman in Texas. In 2011, then-Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, led a congressional hearing about audits of U.S. gold reserves.

During the hearing, former Rep. Paul specifically raised concerns with Fort Knox, a statement for the record shared by the U.S. House shows.

"No one from Congress has been allowed to view the gold at Fort Knox in nearly 40 years, recent photographs of the gold holdings seem to be hard to come by, and the Mint's and Inspector General's audit statements contain only the bare minimum of information," the former congressman said at the time. "Because the government has for so long refused to provide substantive information on its gold holdings, it is not surprising that so much confusion abounds, both within and without the government."