Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered Pentagon officials to find savings and reductions in the budget that could be used to fund President Trump’s “America First” priorities, including border security, new submarines and a continental missile shield.
“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,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert G. Salesses said in a press release. “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.”
According to The Washington Post, Hegseth is calling for 8% cuts each year for the next five years.
In order to free up the money, the Pentagon will have to reduce spending in existing areas, and that could include layoffs. A Pentagon official told NPR that the Trump administration and its DOGE team have asked for lists of all employees still on probation, a group that it easier to lay off if need be. Another official said as many as 55,000 employees within the Department of Defense could lose their jobs, but no final decisions have been announced.
The Department of Defense is the largest agency in the federal government, with a budget of more than $840 billion. It has more than 750,000 civilian employees and oversees 1.3 million active-duty service members and nearly 800,000 members of the National Guard and military reserves.
Although some critics have called for reductions in defense spending, there are no signs that the Trump administration plans to do anything other than increase the military budget. “I think the U.S. needs to spend more than the Biden administration was willing to, who historically underinvested in the capabilities of our military,” Hegseth said earlier this month.