Hegseth directs Pentagon to find $50 billion in cuts this year to fund Trump military priorities
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the military services to identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year in order to redirect those savings to fund President Donald Trump's priorities.
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Hegseth has committed to redirecting Pentagon spending to more directly support warfighters. In a statement late Wednesday, Robert Salesses, who is performing the duties of deputy secretary of defense, said «the time for preparation is over» and «excessive bureaucracy» and programs targeting climate change or «other woke programs» such as diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives would be targeted.
«To achieve our mandate from President Trump, we are guided by his priorities including securing our borders, building the Iron Dome for America, and ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing,» Salesses said.
Iron Dome is envisioned as an extensive, multilayered air defense system for the U.S. that Trump has said should include the ability to shoot down incoming missiles from space.
The roughly $50 billion would represent about 8% of the military's budget. It was not immediately clear which parts of the Pentagon's spending on diversity and equity programs, or its spending to address climate change — such as buying alternate fuels for aircraft, or making bases more resistant to the effects of extreme weather, such as
