1776Reporting
The U.S. military’s massive budget is now in the sights of former President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting team, led by billionaire Elon Musk. With an annual budget of $850 billion, the Department of Defense (DOD) has long faced accusations of wasteful spending. After failing its seventh consecutive audit, critics argue that billions of taxpayer dollars are slipping through the cracks.
“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” Trump declared in a recent Fox News interview.
However, trimming the Pentagon’s budget won’t be simple. While Republicans generally support defense spending, Musk’s aggressive approach to cutting costs could create friction within the party. Here’s where major savings could be found.
Personnel and Contracting: The Hidden Costs
Musk and his allies favor reducing federal employees, but some experts warn that outsourcing government work to contractors might not save money. In fact, contractors—who have profit motives—often cost more than government workers. The Pentagon relies on them for software, training, weapons development, and even paramilitary operations abroad.
“A major driver of Pentagon waste is actually service contracting for what are really core government functions and administrative capacities, like simple things [such] as IT support,” said Julia Gledhill, a researcher at the Stimson Center.
A 2015 study by the Defense Business Board estimated the Pentagon could save $125 billion over five years by renegotiating contracts, streamlining bureaucracy, and consolidating IT services. The report found that the DOD employed over one million contractors for administrative jobs—nearly as many as the 1.3 million active-duty troops. Yet, instead of implementing changes, Pentagon leaders buried the findings to avoid budget cuts.
Mismanagement continues. In 2024, a two-year audit found Boeing overcharged the Air Force by 8,000% for soap dispensers, costing taxpayers $149,072 over market price. Earlier, in 2018, Congress exposed the Air Force for spending $1,300 per reheatable coffee cup—costing $32,000 to replace 25 cups.
Weapons Programs: The F-35 Dilemma
One of Musk’s boldest proposals is eliminating the F-35 stealth fighter jet program. He has publicly criticized the jet as “the worst military value for money in history,” adding that “manned fighter jets are obsolete in the age of drones anyway.”
Despite persistent cost overruns and technical issues, the F-35 program remains politically protected. A recent report by Taxpayers for Common Sense, Quincy Institute, and the Stimson Center suggested scrapping the program could save $12 billion annually. However, Congress is reluctant to cut the program since Lockheed Martin, the jet’s manufacturer, has spread production across multiple states, ensuring lawmakers have a vested interest in keeping it funded.
“Defunding weapons that are overpriced, underperforming, and out of step with current missions, like the F-35 combat aircraft and the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, would allow us to invest more in real priorities while also tackling the nation’s tremendous debt,” said Gabe Murphy of Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Scrapping the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program could save an additional $3.7 billion per year. Experts argue that America’s nuclear deterrent is better served by sea and air-based weapons, making land-based ICBMs less crucial.
Closing Bases to Cut Costs
The Pentagon operates hundreds of military bases worldwide, and analysts argue some are unnecessary. The Stimson Center estimates that targeted closures and realignments could save $3-5 billion per year.
“If you accept that we’re trying to manage the Middle East through U.S. military troop presence or at least the ability to deploy troops and say, okay, we could do with fewer bases,” said Ben Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities.
Trump’s team is reportedly considering withdrawing 2,000 troops from Syria, a move that could be an early test of broader military downsizing. Past efforts, such as the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program under President Reagan, successfully cut excess military installations, saving $12 billion. However, the last BRAC round ended in 2011, and new closures would likely face stiff resistance in Congress.
Pentagon Research Under Scrutiny
Another area ripe for cost-cutting is the Pentagon’s $143.2 billion research budget. Lawmakers have raised concerns over questionable spending, such as $30 million in U.S. grants that allegedly ended up in the hands of an AI researcher in China. In another case, from 2014 to 2023, the Defense Department inspector general found $46.7 million in defense funds were funneled to EcoHealth Alliance, the nonprofit linked to gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology—the suspected origin of COVID-19.
Wasteful Year-End Spending
Under the federal government’s “use-it-or-lose-it” system, agencies rush to spend every dollar left in their budgets before the fiscal year ends. The Pentagon is no exception.
In September 2024, the DOD spent more money in a single month than at any time since 2008. Records show the department spent $6.1 million on lobster tails, $16.6 million on rib-eye steaks, $6.4 million on salmon, and $407,000 on Alaskan king crab. The military also splurged on $211.7 million worth of furniture, including $36,000 on footrests.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called out the spending spree, posting receipts in an online thread and questioning the Pentagon’s financial discipline.
Political Resistance Ahead
Despite clear opportunities for savings, cutting the defense budget remains politically challenging. Congress has historically resisted reductions in military spending, and some lawmakers argue a well-funded Pentagon is critical for national security.
“If history is any kind of precedent, I do think that this is where you’ll start to see at least a real sort of tension arise,” said Diana Shaw, former State Department Inspector General.
“There are folks with philosophical interests in the entire defense infrastructure and the military. And so, this is an area that has been well protected historically. And so I do think this now will be an interesting test case to see whether there will be, even within the Republican Party now, some pushback to the sort of aggressive cutting and picking apart that we’ve seen happen at other agencies that have historically been sort of less favored by members of the Republican Party.”
With Trump and Musk leading the charge, the push to rein in Pentagon spending could spark one of the biggest battles in Washington. Whether Congress will go along with the plan remains to be seen.
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