Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is rapidly restructuring the military by reallocating $50 billion—approximately 8% of this year’s budget—while cutting diversity initiatives and laying off 5,400 civilian workers. He supports President Trump’s dismissal of Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and is collaborating with Elon Musk’s team to review Pentagon spending for inefficiencies. Hegseth aims to invest in 17 priority areas, including missile defense, military operations along the southern border, and advanced drone technology. The Pentagon also plans to eliminate underperforming personnel while facing potential congressional pushback on budget cuts amid efforts to increase military spending closer to $1 trillion.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is rapidly initiating changes within the military, partially by reallocating funds and implementing cuts.
He has prohibited initiatives within the Defense Department that promote diversity and has strongly supported President Trump’s decision to dismiss Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the second Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
He has also welcomed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to evaluate Pentagon programs for what he describes as “fraud, waste, and abuse.”
Mr. Hegseth has directed senior military and Defense Department officials to create plans to reallocate $50 billion in this year’s budget, roughly 8 percent. This process is set to be conducted annually for the next five years at the Pentagon.
Additionally, the Pentagon plans to terminate 5,400 civilian probationary employees, marking the beginning of what officials anticipate to be a significant wave of layoffs at the government’s largest agency.
One key issue for Pentagon leaders will be whether the department can internally cut or shift funds without needing congressional approval.
Simultaneously, Republican lawmakers are pushing for an increase of over $100 billion to the Pentagon’s proposed budget this year, bringing total military spending closer to $1 trillion annually.
What programs will face cuts?
That remains the critical question.
In addition to slashing programs focused on diversity, climate change, and other areas recommended by Mr. Musk’s team, Mr. Hegseth is expected to assess proposals from the armed services in the upcoming weeks.
For example, the Army was expected to suggest cutting outdated drones and excess vehicles. Mr. Hegseth asserts these are not merely cuts but a “refocusing and reinvestment of existing funds” into different priorities.
Any reductions to the defense budget may encounter resistance in Congress, where legislators frequently focus on changes that might impact their constituencies.
Cutting as many as 55,000 probationary employees could also lead to notable savings.
“In essence, it is not in the public’s best interest to keep individuals whose roles are not mission-critical,” Mr. Hegseth mentioned in a video statement last week.
Which sectors would gain reallocated funds?
Mr. Hegseth has identified 17 categories that will be exempt from cuts. These areas are likely to be allocated new funds, according to defense officials who are still figuring out how to implement Mr. Hegseth’s directives.
Robert G. Salesses, the acting deputy defense secretary, stated that some of the funds might be allocated for an “Iron Dome for America”—a missile defense capability. While Israel possesses a mobile Iron Dome defense system, a U.S. variant would need to differ significantly given the larger land mass of the United States.
Increased funding may also support other defense priorities from the Trump administration, including military operations along the southern border, nuclear weapons modernization and missile defense, as well as the procurement of submarines and one-way attack drones.
What are one-way attack drones?
One-way attack drones are small, unmanned propeller-driven aircraft designed to explode upon impact.
They have been sought after by the Pentagon since officials observed the success of the Ukrainian military using them against Russian forces. Indeed, some U.S. military procurement officers have been exploring the acquisition of economical commercial off-the-shelf drones.
Last fall, an innovative Defense Department unit approached the industry for drones capable of functioning in “disrupted, disconnected, intermittent, low-bandwidth” conditions.
What other areas could be funded more generously?
Mr. Hegseth’s list of 17 priorities also includes initiatives targeting Mexican drug cartels, or as the Pentagon describes it, “combating transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere.”
Military intelligence personnel may soon be deployed to the southern border to attempt to infiltrate drug cartels actively trafficking fentanyl into the United States, according to Defense Department officials.
The U.S. government has already been pursuing actions against drug cartels, with the Trump administration raising the prospect of military operations on Mexican soil.
Mr. Trump issued an executive order stipulating that the United States would “ensure the total elimination” of these organizations.
Also on Mr. Hegseth’s “good” list are categories he designates as “priority critical cybersecurity,” “munitions and energetics organic industrial bases,” and of course, “audit.”
Mr. Hegseth has committed to ensuring the Defense Department achieves a clean audit by the conclusion of the Trump administration—an objective it has yet to accomplish since commencing annual audits in 2018.