The Department of Defense is looking to identify about $50 billion of “low-priority Biden-legacy programs” to cut so that funding can be repurposed for President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The $50-billion marker is roughly the equivalent of 8% of the Biden administration’s fiscal 2026 budget. Robert Salesses, who is performing the duties of deputy secretary of defense, announced the plan on Wednesday night.
“Secretary [of Defense Pete] 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,” he 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 department will look to “cease unnecessary spending … including through so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs, as well as excessive bureaucracy.”
Hegseth announced the review of the services in a memo he sent on Feb. 18, which set a deadline of Feb. 24.
There are 17 areas that are exempt from the review, including border enforcement, the Virginia-class submarine, homeland missile defense, and the Air Force’s new Collaborative Combat Aircraft, among others, according to Bloomberg.
Trump and Hegseth have said their priorities for the Pentagon are to secure the southern border, build a comprehensive homeland aerial defense system, and end the department’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
The current Pentagon budget is roughly $850 billion, and the department’s last comptroller, Michael McCord, predicted that the budget would soon top a trillion dollars annually.
Hegseth, during his first trip overseas last week, called on the country’s NATO allies to increase their defense spending to 5% of their GDP, more than double the current minimum of 2%. Despite the significant investment in the military, the United States spent roughly 3.38% of its GDP on the military last year.
The secretary did not say whether the U.S. would also pursue that 5% benchmark when he was asked directly.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“I think nobody can or should contest the extent of America’s willingness to invest in national security. We have a budget of $850 billion spent on defense. I’m in the business of ensuring that every dollar of that is used wisely, which is why we’re pushing a Pentagon audit and making sure that we’re cutting fat so that we’ve got more at the tip of the spear,” he said. “3.4% is a very robust investment, larger than most of our allies within NATO.”
Hegseth has also welcomed the Department of Government Efficiency to audit the Defense Department’s spending. The Pentagon sent a list of probationary employees to the Office of Personnel Management who will likely get fired, though some may be kept on if they’re determined to be mission critical.