A senior Pentagon official on Wednesday acknowledged the agency was considering major budget cuts to the tune of 8 percent every year for the next five years.
In a statement, Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said the cuts were being conceived to pay for other Trump administration defense priorities, including a desired “Iron Dome for America” missile defense system and border security.
He added that DOD looks to “cease unnecessary spending that set our military back” such as on climate change programs and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“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,” Salesses said. “The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion.”
The Washington Post first reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered top defense officials to draw up proposed cuts by Feb. 24, according to a Tuesday memo.
The document included a list of 17 categories that the Trump administration wants exempt from the budget slashing, including operations at the southern U.S. border, nuclear weapon and missile defense modernization, and acquisition of one-way attack drones and other munitions, the Post reported.
“The Department of Defense is conducting this review to ensure we are making the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars in a way that delivers on the President Trump’s defense priorities efficiently and effectively,” Salesses said.
The cuts are likely to be a hard sell to Congress. The Pentagon has a current budget of about $850 billion, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in agreement the figure is necessary to deter threats from Russia and China.
