Last week, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the termination of over $580 million in Pentagon contracts, grants, and programs. They amount to less than 0.07% of the Pentagon budget.

The elimination of this spending aligns with the administration’s effort to reshuffle the budget, not to promote a wholesale reduction in military spending.

Secretary Hegseth made this clear in February, when he ordered his staff to draw up plans to excise about $50 billion from the Pentagon budget annually for at least five years — only to “offset” greater spending in 17 priority areas. These include further militarization of the border, needless expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, and ill-conceived plans to develop a “Golden Dome” missile defense system for the United States.

Accordingly, Hegseth announced in a video last week that the eliminated spending did not align with the administration’s priorities — “in other words, they are not a good use of taxpayer dollars.” The secretary proceeded to outline terminated contracts, grants, and programs — lamenting one program for 780% cost growth. According to Hegseth, “we’re not doing that anymore.”

Hegseth is right to baulk at a program egregiously over budget and behind schedule. Cost growth and delivery delays are longstanding and pervasive issues at the Department of Defense. However, to cut wasteful spending fast — the secretary’s stated intention — he must start with big ticket items in the Pentagon budget. These are service contracts and major weapon programs, which are particularly susceptible to cost overruns and delays.

Read the full article on Responsible Statecraft.