U.S. lawmakers seek new Fort Knox gold audit

A group of Republican lawmakers has introduced a bill to initiate the first comprehensive audit of U.S. gold reserves since the 1950s, citing the need for greater transparency over the nation’s bullion holdings.

If passed, the bill would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a full physical assay and inventory of America’s gold holdings within one year, and repeat it annually. It also mandates disclosure of all gold-related transactions over the past 50 years, including loans, leases, swaps, encumbrances, purchases and sales.

“The American people deserve to know whether the gold reserves are where they should be and whether they are being managed properly,” Thomas Massie (R-KY), who introduced the legislation on Friday, said in a statement.

Proponents of a formal audit and revaluation of the U.S. gold reserves, such as former congressman Ron Paul, author James Rickards, and investment banker Louis Lehrman, say the current statutory gold price of $42.22 per oz. is outdated and conceals the true value of national assets. (The statutory price is a fixed figure set by law in 1973 and used for accounting purposes, not for trading.) They say revaluing the gold at market prices would improve transparency, restore trust in monetary policy and prepare the dollar for potential future reforms involving gold.

Critics such as former Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke and Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff argue that gold has no practical role in modern fiat-based systems. They say revaluing the reserves could destabilize financial markets, fuel conspiracy-driven politics, and undermine the Federal Reserve’s independence. Adding hundreds of billions of unrealized gains to the Treasury’s books might also prompt unsound fiscal pressures, such as calls to monetize the gold or back currency with metal, which they view as a step backward economically.

Highest reserves

The U.S. currently holds more gold in its reserves than any other nation at about 8,133 tonnes, according to Treasury Department data. The largest portion—more than 147 million oz.— is stored in Fort Knox, Kentucky. The remainder are held at West Point, the Denver Mint and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The legislation, titled the Gold Reserve Transparency Act of 2025, was also backed by Troy Nehls (R-TX), Addison McDowell (R-NC) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) as co-sponsors. The Senate, where Democrat backing would likely be required, could block the bill. 

Earlier this year, U.S. President Donald Trump called for a visit to Fort Knox to verify that America’s gold reserves are still intact.

The Treasury, meanwhile, has maintained that an annual audit is performed, and all gold is “present and accounted for.”

‘Full disclosure’

The Gold Reserve Transparency Act proposes that similar audits be repeated at least every five years to ensure ongoing transparency and prevent lapses in record-keeping. It would provide “the full disclosure President Trump seeks,” Massie wrote on his X account.

The bill’s introduction comes a day after the viral social media clash between Trump and his former advisor Elon Musk, who first floated the idea of livestreaming a Fort Knox gold audit in February.

“The lack of proper audits of America’s gold is highly alarming and totally unacceptable — such shoddy procedures would never pass muster in the private sector,” Stefan Gleason, CEO of Money Metals Depository, said in support of the bill.

“It’s been literally decades since actual inventories and assays have been conducted with respect to U.S. gold reserves, and the Department of the Treasury has lost records, as well as failed to account for many occasions when vault compartments were inexplicably opened and resealed without new audits,” Gleason added.