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While the ‘department of government efficiency’ (DOGE) under Elon Musk falls under scrutiny for its ‘slash and burn’ approach to various US federal agencies – most recently provoking the walkout of several members of his own staff – another budgetary assessment is underway at the Pentagon.
US military spending is set to undergo a comprehensive review which aims to reallocate funds from programs deemed lower priority – chiefly those connected to climate change and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) – seeking reductions of around 8% from the Pentagon’s annual budget over the next 5 years.
The figure given by Acting Deputy Defence Secretary Robert Salesses was $50 billion – to be reallocated during the 2026 fiscal year – which represents around 6% of the $876.8B defense budget anticipated under Joe Biden’s administration.
But across the next 5 years, the initiative – guided by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth – could involve a funding reallocation of between $250B and $350B, and impact much of the civilian workforce.
Strong words and prominent firings
The review marks another step in the path that Donald Trump’s administration has been on since its inauguration. In an interview in early February, the President signaled that Musk would be auditing the Pentagon, and would be likely to find ‘fraud and abuse’ at the agency.
In a separate interview with NBC, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz echoed these sentiments, commenting that the Pentagon’s shipbuilding processes in particular were ‘an absolute mess’, and that unnecessary spending was a feature across the board.
More recently, this desire for change has been followed up with the removal of several high-profile military personnel, including Airforce General C. Q Brown – the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – whose appointment was questioned by Hegseth in his 2024 book, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.
In it, he wondered if race might have been a factor in Brown’s elevation to such a prestigious position, saying “Was it because of his skin colour? Or his skill? We’ll never know, but always doubt – which on its face seems unfair to C.Q. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn’t really much matter.”
Also among those fired last week was Admiral Lisa Franchetti, who – as head of the US Navy – was the first woman to lead a military service
US operational and tactical capabilities to remain strong
But although the budgetary review is likely to usher in significant change in programming at the Pentagon – marking as it does, the most profound assessment of defence spending since the Budget Control Act (BCA) in 2011 – this is not likely to have a negative impact on the United States’ capabilities, according to Research Fellow at UWA Defence and Security Institute Dr Troy Lee-Brown.
Commenting on Waltz’s suggestion that shipbuilding processes could be under the microscope, Dr Lee-Brown said this area of military spending would not be likely to receive cutbacks.
“I was interested in Hegseth’s response to those comments, that he supported DOGE’s efforts to cut costs at the Pentagon, but not to the detriment of US operational and tactical capabilities,” he said.
“In fact, Hegseth believes defence spending should increase so that will be an area to watch.
“A bill was introduced to Congress recently that set out the need to grow the US naval fleet and raised ways in which allied shipbuilders might contribute to shipbuilding.”
But will it affect AUKUS?
Despite the likely profundity of the incoming military review, and the shift to a new US administration, Dr Lee-Brown said he was confident that the country’s $368 billion AUKUS deal with Australia – in which the latter would buy 3 to 5 off-the-shelf Virginia-class boats in the early 2030s – was on-target.
“Phase One or the SRF-West component of AUKUS Pillar One seems to progressing quite well at the operational level,” he said.
“(Defence Minister Richard) Marles’ initial meeting with incoming Sec Def Hegseth was encouraging with regard to phase 2 or the acquisition of 3-5 USN Virginia submarines.
“The politics will remain tricky and lots of work still to be done.”
Trump and Waltz’s earlier comments came only days after Richard Marles’ visit to Washington, where he and Trump met to discuss AUKUS, with Australia announcing it had paid the first of six $797 million payments.
While Hegseth made assurances that the boats would be delivered on time, there remain concerns about the deal, given the apparent difficulty US shipbuilders are having producing even the 2 subs per year required for US procurement.
Dr Lee-Brown said he did not expect any significant changes as part of President Trump’s overall approach to US defence, but added that “The Trump admin will pressure allies to do and spend more on defence.”
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