Update: Defense One on Wednesday evening reported that a statement from acting deputy defense secretary Robert Salesses contradicts the Post's report, and says the Pentagon will aim to redirect around $50 billion from next year's budget proposal.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is ordering Pentagon leaders to make recommendations for cuts to military spending, according to a memo obtained by the Washington Post, setting up a showdown with congressional Republicans.
The Trump administration’s new Pentagon chief is instructing senior military officials to develop plans for cutting 8% from the defense budget for each of the next five years, the Washington Post reported.
Hegseth’s memo lays out 17 areas that he wants exempt from plans, including southern border enforcement, modernization of nuclear weapons, missile defense, and acquisition of one-way attack drones. On Friday, Bloomberg reported that other sacrosanct programs in the memo include Virginia-class submarines, the Air Force’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft, “priority critical cybersecurity,” and munitions, among others.
