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Pentagon orders budget review, reinvests $50 billion

2025-02-20 11:21:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Pentagon said Wednesday it is instructing senior military leaders to compile a list of potential savings, worth $50 billion, from the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026. This amount, the Pentagon said, will be used to implement President Donald Trump's national defense priorities.

The budget review could mark the beginning of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's efforts to implement plans for more investment in the Asia-Pacific and to prioritize securing the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as other reforms.

It remains unclear how this effort will fit in with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency initiative to cut government spending. A Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, team has already begun work at the Pentagon, as civilian employees face job cuts.

Acting Undersecretary of Defense Robert Salesses said the military will compile a list of potential savings after reviewing the budget drafted by the previous administration of President Joe Biden.

"It is intended to save up to 8% of the budget drafted by President Biden's administration for fiscal year 2026, about $50 billion. This amount will be used in accordance with President Trump's priorities," said Mr. Salesses.

Earlier, the Reuters news agency reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had asked all branches of the Pentagon to propose cuts amounting to 8% of the budget in question, according to US officials.

The cuts make numerous exceptions, including the United States Indo-Pacific Command, funding for military operations along the border with Mexico, as well as air defense and autonomous systems, one of the officials said.

Military commands overseeing operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are not exempt from the cuts. The Pentagon's annual budget is roughly $1 trillion a year. In December, President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing $895 billion in defense spending for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Secretary Hegseth has publicly stated that the Pentagon's priority is on U.S. border security and the threats posed by China. He has said that the United States can no longer be primarily focused on security in Europe.

As the Department of Government Efficiency team begins reviewing Pentagon financial records, some military civilian employees said they have begun receiving emails saying they could be fired since they were hired less than a year ago.

Leaders across the political spectrum have long criticized waste and inefficiency at the Defense Department. But Democrats and civil service unions have said Mr. Musk lacks the expertise to restructure the Pentagon. They suggest his team's efforts risk exposing covert programs.

Efforts to cancel defense programs could cause opposition among lawmakers, who will try to defend spending in their constituencies./ Reuters