Report: Pentagon Ordered to Prepare for Budget Cuts

Even the Pentagon is not immune as the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency overhauls the federal government. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered leaders at the Pentagon and within the US military to draw up proposals for cutting 8% from their budgets for each of the next five years, according to a memo obtained by the Washington Post. Operations involving the US-Mexico border, nuclear weapon modernization, missile defense, and munitions acquisition will be exempted at the Trump administration's request, and money saved via the budget cuts could be "realigned" to Trump administration priorities, says a Pentagon official. The memo specifically mentions realigning funds from Biden-era programs, Fox News reports.

Among President Trump's priorities is a so-called "Iron Dome for America," a $50 billion missile defense system he wants to see implemented. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are expected to push back against Hegseth's plan, given that the Pentagon budget of $850 billion is seen by Democrats and Republicans alike as necessary in order to deter threats from Russia and China. Meanwhile, thousands of Defense Department employees in their probationary period are expected to see their positions terminated this week, in a move that will echo what's been happening across the federal workforce. (More Pentagon stories.)