Cuts to staff, budget will boost military strength, Hegseth says

Defense Secretary Pete Hesgeth on Thursday defended looming staff cuts and budget reforms as necessary to refocus the military on its core missions, promising the efforts will produce “the biggest, most bad-ass military on the planet.”

In a video message released Thursday evening, Hegseth also lashed out at critics and the media for misrepresenting the pending moves as cuts to the military. He said President Donald Trump is committed to increasing resources for the armed forces, following through on campaign promises to boost defense spending.

“Beginning right away, we are pulling around 8%, or $50 billion, from [former President Joe Biden’s] budget plans,” he said. “We will move away from woke, non-lethal programs and instead spend that money on President [Donald] Trump’s priorities for our national budget.

“We’re asking the services to plan. It’s not a cut. It’s refocusing and reinvesting existing funds into building a force that protects you, the American people.”

On Wednesday, acting Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Salesses released a statement acknowledging that military agency leaders had been ordered to cut 8% from their initial fiscal 2026 Defense Department budget plans. That budget outline had been expected to top $850 billion.

The news drew significant concern from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, who were also informed that the moves could include an annual 8% cut for the next five years.

But Hegseth in his video said that any savings would be reinvested into other areas of the defense budget. He also said numerous security priorities — such as southwest border activities, nuclear modernization efforts, Virginia-class submarine procurement, cybersecurity efforts and core readiness training — would not face any budget reductions.

“This is great news for taxpayers and for our national security,” he said.

Hegseth did acknowledge that the department is working closely with officials from the controversial Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which has spearheaded efforts to dramatically slash staffing at a number of federal agencies.

The defense secretary indicated that civilian worker staff cuts will come to his department soon, but said he believes the work will make military operations more efficient without compromising readiness.

“Bottom line, it is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission critical, and to restore accountability within the federal workforce,” he said. “Taxpayers deserve to have us take a really thorough look at our workforce top to bottom, and to see where we can find and eliminate redundancy.”

Hegseth said officials would start with “poor performers amongst our probationary employees,” although dismissal efforts at other federal agencies have largely focused on job seniority and not worker performance.

He also promised that military leaders will “hire and reward hard-working employees who are central to the core fighting mission.”

Hegseth did not take any direct questions from reporters after the video’s release. He also did not address rumors of plans to fire top military officials viewed by Trump administration officials as too closely connected to the last president.