Pete Hegseth orders Pentagon to cut 8 percent of budget for each of the next five years

The cuts could amount to tens of billions of dollars

Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is instructing Pentagon leadership to begin preparing for an 8 percent budget cut in each of the next five years.

The cuts are expected to span across the following areas: Operations at the southern border, modernization of nuclear weapons, missile defense and acquisition of submarines, and one-way attack drones and other munitions, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.

The Independent has emailed the Department of Defense for comment.

Hegseth has issued a deadline of February 24 for personnel to turn in suggested cutbacks. A complete list includes 17 categories the Trump administration would like to shave.

“The time for preparation is over — we must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence. Our budget will resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit,” Hegseth wrote, The Post reported.

An aerial shot of the Pentagon. The Department of Defense employs about 900,000 people (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The Pentagon has an operating budget of nearly $850 billion, which was approved by Congress during former President Joe Biden’s administration. The cuts could amount to tens of billions of dollars. Lawmakers are expected to flex bipartisan opposition to the suggested reductions.

President Donald Trump’s administration has further plans to fire thousands of probationary Defense Department employees this week, according to the newspaper. There are currently about 900,000 employees at the agency, with some of them on a probationary work term of one to three years.

The task is being led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, reportedly intends to fire some 6,700 Internal Revenue Service employees during tax season, likely resulting in a decrease in finding tax cheats, which will reduce income for the federal government.

Similar moves are being taken across Washington D.C.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration closed the U.S. Agency for International Development by issuing a funding freeze. Trump has spoken out about wanting to enact comparable measures for the Department of Education.

The president has historically swayed on his plans for military spending. In December 2018, he called defense spending “crazy” before announcing plans for a $750 billion defense budget a week later.

But in 2020, he directed reductions to lower defense spending to $700 billion. Trump would need congressional approval to implement the proposed cuts. If enacted, the military budget would hit a low point not seen since 2013.

The firings are hitting federal workers in the District hard. Since Trump’s inauguration, 4,000 people in Washington D.C. have filed for unemployment insurance, according to the Labor Department.