US President Donald Trump has directed senior military leaders to develop plans for expansive cuts that could reduce the Pentagon’s defense budget by 8% annually—amounting to roughly $290 billion over the next five years. According to reports from US media on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been instructed to prepare these deep reductions, as detailed in a memo cited by The Washington Post. The current 2025 defense budget is around $850 billion, and if fully implemented, the cuts could lower that figure to approximately $560 billion by the end of the five-year period.
While the memo did not specify exactly where the reductions would occur, earlier reporting suggested that the focus may be on junior civilian employees rather than uniformed personnel. This announcement comes on the heels of a recent visit to the Pentagon by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and is expected to encounter stiff resistance from both the military and Congress. The news also had an immediate impact on the market, causing the stock prices of major defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to drop briefly.
Hegseth’s memo requires that the proposed cuts be finalized by February 24 and outlines 17 categories that Trump wants to exempt from the reductions, including operations at the US border with Mexico and modernization initiatives for nuclear weapons and missile defense. Additionally, funding for regional headquarters like Indo-Pacific Command and Space Command will be maintained, while other major centers such as European Command, Africa Command, and Central Command are notably absent from the list.
In the memo, Hegseth emphasized, “the Defense Department must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence.” He continued, “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.”
This bold move comes as Trump has reiterated his commitment to drastically reduce government spending and has signaled a shift in US policy, including a potential move to end support for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
