Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed military officials to identify $50 billion in potential cuts from the upcoming fiscal year 2026 budget so that the savings can be redirected to President Donald Trump’s national defense priorities, the Pentagon announced on Feb. 19.
Salesses said “excessive bureaucracy” and programs targeting climate change or “other woke programs” such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives would be targeted.
“The offsets are targeted at 8 [percent] of the Biden administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities,” Salesses said.
It was not immediately clear which aspects of the Pentagon’s spending on climate change or DEI programs would be targeted or amount to $50 billion in savings.
Salesses said the Defense Department is conducting the review to ensure American taxpayers’ dollars are being used “efficiently and effectively” toward Trump’s defense priorities.
“President Trump’s charge to the Department is clear: to achieve peace through strength. We will do this by putting forward budgets that revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence,” he said.
“To achieve our mandate from President Trump, we are guided by his priorities including securing our borders, building the Iron Dome for America, and ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.”
Hegseth Praises Musk, DOGE
Salesses’s comments echo those made by Hegseth at a press conference in Stuttgart, Germany, last week, one of three stops on his first overseas visit to Europe since taking office.Speaking to reporters, Hegseth praised the work Elon Musk has been doing as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), adding that he hoped to welcome the businessman and his team to the Pentagon soon for a collaboration.
“There are waste, redundancies, and headcounts in headquarters that need to be addressed,” the defense secretary said on Feb. 12.
He criticized various climate programs pursued at the Defense Department under the previous administration.
“The Defense Department is not in the business of climate change, solving the global thermostat. We’re in the business of deterring and winning wars,” Hegseth said.
The Pentagon’s announcement comes as the military assembles its fiscal year 2026 request, a congressional process that often starts late during transitions between new presidential administrations.
The Pentagon’s annual budget is approaching $1 trillion. In December 2024, then-President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing $895 billion in defense spending for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
