Pete Hegseth Instructs Pentagon to Cut 8% From Defense Budget in Effort to Fund 'America First Priorities'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to cut 8% of next year's defense budget – around $50 billion – from "low-impact and low-priority" Biden-era programs to redirect the funds towards President Donald Trump’s "America First priorities." The military will put together a list of programs that could be axed to fund Trump's plans, including "so-called 'climate change' and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy," according to a statement from acting Deputy Defense Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses on Wednesday night. It was unclear from the statement what new programs would receive the money, but it said Trump's priorities included "securing our borders, building the Iron Dome for America, and ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing."

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. 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.

Hegseth, 44, demanded a proposal that would include annual 8% cuts to the Pentagon’s roughly $850 billion budget, according to a memo obtained by the Washington Post. The defense secretary ordered senior Pentagon officials, top military commanders, and the directors of several defense agencies to draft plans for the proposed cuts by Feb. 24. Hegseth’s memo contained a list of 17 categories of spending that the Trump administration wants to be exempted from cuts, according to the outlet, including US-Mexico border operations, modernization of nuclear weapons, missile defense, submarine acquisition, one-way attack drones and other munitions.