Pentagon Faces 8% Budget Cut Proposal Over Five Years

8% Reduction Over Five Years

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has instructed top Pentagon and US military officials to prepare plans for a significant reduction in the defense budget. According to a memo obtained by The Washington Post, the proposed cuts would amount to 8% annually over the next five years.

This proposal is expected to face strong opposition from within the military and Congress. It also involves substantial cuts to various categories, with some exceptions. The memo outlines 17 categories that the Trump administration wants to exclude from the cuts, including operations at the US-Mexico border, the modernization of nuclear weapons and missile defense, and the purchase of one-way attack drones and other munitions.

The Pentagon's 2025 budget is approximately USD 850 billion. There is widespread agreement in Congress that this level of spending is crucial to counter the growing threats from China and Russia. If fully implemented, the proposed cuts could total tens of billions of dollars each year over the next five years.

The memo calls for continued "support agency" funding for several major regional headquarters, including Indo-Pacific Command, Northern Command, and Space Command. Notably absent from that list are European Command, Central Command, and Africa Command.

achieve Peace through Strength," Hegseth wrote in the memo. "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."

If implemented, the proposed cuts would represent the most significant attempt to reduce Pentagon spending since 2013. At that time, similar cuts were seen as a crisis within the Pentagon and became increasingly unpopular among both Republicans and Democrats as the negative impact on the military's training and readiness for combat became evident.