Recently it was reported that the SecDef has ordered a look into cutting, a major cut, of Pentagon spending.
I think it is a great idea but as I wrote when the news broke….I do not believe there will be much cutting going on….
And now for the rest of the story….
Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert G. Salesses said in a statement on Wednesday night that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered a review of Pentagon spending to realign spending to fund priorities of the Trump administration.
The statement from Salesses came after a report from The Washington Post said that Hegseth ordered a plan to cut Pentagon spending by 8% each year over the next five years. But according to the statement from Salesses, the idea is to redirect spending and not actually make cuts to the budget.
“Secretary Hegseth has directed a review to identify offsets from the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget that could be realigned from low-impact and low-priority Biden-legacy programs to align with President Trump’s America First priorities for our national defense,” Salesses said.
“The Department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars. The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities,” he added.
On Thursday, Hegseth said that the Trump administration would be taking $50 billion away from “woke Biden-era non-lethal programs and instead spend that money on President Trump’s America First, peace through strength priorities.”
Hegseth criticized The Washington Post for reporting on misrepresenting his memo, which he said was “clear as a bell.” The Pentagon chief said he wanted the “biggest, most badass military on the planet.”
In his statement, Salesses said that through the Trump administration’s budget, the Pentagon “will once again resource warfighting and cease unnecessary spending that set our military back under the previous administration, including through so-called “climate change” and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy.”
Salesses said spending priorities from the Trump administration include the “Iron Dome for America,” referring to an order from the president to establish a major new missile defense system, a project that would be a boon for the weapons makers and likely start a new arms race. Trump has also backed a budget plan drawn up by House Republicans that would increase military spending by $100 billion.
More info here….According toBreaking Defense, the memo issued by Hegseth included 17 categories of spending that would be exempt from the offsets:
(antiwar.com)
As I seem to always warn….never get your hopes up for the billionaires will always win out.
Better luck next time reining in War spending.
On a side note….the price tag for trump’s golf outings for one month….$10.7 million….so while his thugs and hatchet men are destroying the government he has time to play golf….we are so goddamn lucky (sarcasm)….
Apparently Trump and golf is his version of Nero fiddling while Rome burned.
Any thoughts?
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Cutting useless jobs to save $ may be considered but should be last consideration as
inappropriate funding, disbursement $, waste should be the first focus. If Trump can get Europeans to solve Ukraine and Arabs to solve Palestine in Middle east instead of US should lift huge $ burden.
Go after waste with a scalpel not a sledge hammer….Europe wants this to continue because it is good business….the Arabs are too chaotic to have any thought…..in a perfect world these situations could be solved with cooperation….that is sadly lacking internationally. chuq
Trump has never had a problem Fiddling anything, he makes Nero look like a Saint by comparison.
He is showing his true colors this time around…..most of it bleak. chuq
The longer Trump is diverted by playing golf in Florida, the more money Musk can make for himself and his cronies by running the country in Don’s absence. I don’t foresee any genuine cuts in defence spending, just more profits for the arms companies and bribes for the politicians involved.
Best wishes, Pete.
Sadly I think you have hit the nail on the head. chuq
Now the CIA is worried that some of the fired workers will hire themselves out to recruiters from foreign agents.
I think it would be more as hired contractors. chuq
In today’s world Loyalty has a price tag like everything else.
It’s hard to pin down the exact numbers but estimates are that Trump’s golf outings during his first term in office cost the taxpayers anywhere from $60 million to as much as $140 million, depending on how you calculate it.
At this rate he should out do that estimate by 2026. LOl chuq
The article leans heavily on skepticism without offering concrete evidence to support its doubts about the proposed Pentagon spending realignment. It also muddies its critique by veering into unrelated tangents, like Trump’s golf outings, which dilutes its focus and weakens the overall argument —NEVERTHELESS …..it is refreshing to hear a call for refocusing Pentagon spending on core defense priorities, even if the reality might fall short of the rhetoric. Any step toward trimming wasteful programs and redirecting funds to strengthen national security could be a win for efficiency—worth keeping an eye on, at least—so, all-in-all, a great article worthy of reading and spreading however possible.
There w2ill be little to no trimming just redirecting the cash. This is the referenced link…. https://breakingdefense.com/2025/02/pentagon-seeks-to-shift-50b-in-planned-funding-to-new-priorities-in-fy26/ chuq
Still a great post, Chuq–