Analyst explains what Hegseth’s desired DOD cuts may mean

(CNN) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to prepare plans to make drastic budget cuts over the next five years, with an exception for border security, according to a new memo obtained by CNN.

The memo, dated Tuesday, calls for military leaders to provide a proposal for eight percent in budget cuts each year for the next five years. The proposals for the massive cuts to the Pentagon’s budget of approximately $850 billion are due by February 24, less than one week after Hegseth issued the memo.

It was issued the day before President Donald Trump endorsed the House’s budget plan which includes a $100 billion increase in defense spending, suggesting a major disconnect within the administration. Hegseth himself called for an increase to the defense budget one week ago. While visiting Stuttgart, Germany, Hegseth said, “I think the US needs to spend more than the Biden administration was willing to, who historically underinvested in the capabilities of our military.”

“I ask that the Military Departments and DoD Components resource the capabilities and readiness necessary for a wartime tempo and offset those requirements with low-impact items, such as wasteful DEI and climate change programs,” Hegseth wrote in the memo. The memo, which was labeled CUI – controlled unclassified information – was sent to senior Pentagon leaders, the commanders of combatant commands and defense agencies.

The memo comes as Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is initiating a major effort to shrink the federal government, cutting spending and laying off a significant number of workers across the country.

The Washington Post first reported the memo.

“The Department of Defense is conducting this review to ensure we are making the best use of the taxpayers’ dollars in a way that delivers on the President Trump’s defense priorities efficiently and effectively,” said Robert Salesses, who is performing the duties of the deputy defense secretary.

Despite Hegseth’s stated focus to “revive the warrior ethos,” some defense officials responsible for drafting lists of civilian Pentagon employees to be fired as soon as this week are voicing concerns that the summary firings could break the law and harm US military readiness.

The proposed cuts to the Pentagon’s approximately $850 billion budget would amount to tens of billions of dollars in cuts in the first year, the largest reduction in the Defense Department budget since sequestration in 2013.

The proposal is certain to meet with resistance from Congressional Republicans, many of whom have called for increasing the defense budget and derided the Biden administration for only modest hikes in defense spending. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called for defense spending to gradually increase to more than $1 trillion per year.

The cuts also come at a time when Trump is calling on NATO allies to increase defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which would amount to a massive hike in spending for nearly every single NATO country. (If the US spent 5% of its GDP on defense, the military’s budget would exceed $1.2 trillion.)

CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect Robert Salesses is performing the duties of the deputy defense secretary.

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