Donald Trump administration’s new path: Pentagon given a five-year goal to slash price range
The Trump administration has ordered senior US navy leaders to plan for expansive cuts that might slash the protection price range by eight % yearly, or some $290 billion throughout the subsequent 5 years, US media reported Wednesday.
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth informed the Pentagon to develop the deep reductions, The Washington Publish reported, citing a memo.
The Pentagon’s price range for 2025 is a few $850 billion. Lawmakers throughout the political spectrum agree that the huge spending is required to discourage threats, significantly from China and Russia.
The cuts, if applied in full, would scale back that determine by tens of billions annually to some $560 billion on the finish of the 5 years.
The report didn’t give particulars of the place the cuts could be made on the planet’s largest navy, however an earlier Publish report mentioned that junior civilian staff, not uniformed personnel, had been being focused.
The report — which comes after Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity reportedly visited the Pentagon final week — was prone to be met with stiff resistance from each the navy and Congress.
The inventory costs of main US protection contractors comparable to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumann dropped briefly on the information.
Hegseth’s memo mentioned the proposed cuts have to be drawn up by February 24, and embrace 17 classes that Trump needs exempted, together with operations on the US border with Mexico and modernization of nuclear weapons and missile protection.
It additionally requires funding for regional headquarters comparable to Indo-Pacific Command and House Command.
However different main facilities comparable to European Command, which has led the way in which on US technique all through the conflict in Ukraine, and likewise Africa Command and Central Command — which oversees operations within the Center East — had been absent from the record, the Publish reported.
The Protection Division “should act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our navy, and reestablish deterrence,” Hegseth wrote within the memo, dated Tuesday, in response to the Publish.
“Our price range will useful resource the preventing power we want, stop pointless protection spending, reject extreme paperwork, and drive actionable reform together with progress on the audit,” he reportedly continued.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to slash authorities spending and finish US assist for Ukraine in its conflict towards Russian invasion.
