The military is bracing for significant budget cuts over the next five years. The Defense Secretary has ordered plans to reduce the budget by eight percent each year, which is a big deal. The plans are due by February 24, which is less than a week after the order was given. This is a big shift from the recent past, where defense spending was increasing.

The memo ordering these cuts was sent to top military leaders and defense agencies. It was sent the day before President Trump endorsed a budget plan that would increase defense spending by $100 billion. This seems like a big contradiction, as the Defense Secretary had previously called for more defense spending. He even said that the Biden administration had not invested enough in the military's capabilities.

The memo also mentions that the military should focus on capabilities and readiness for wartime, and cut back on other programs. It was labeled as controlled unclassified information, meaning it's not top-secret but still sensitive.

These cuts are part of a bigger effort to shrink the federal government. This effort includes laying off a significant number of workers across the country. The proposed cuts to the Pentagon’s approximately $850 billion budget would amount to tens of billions of dollars in cuts in the first year. This would be the largest reduction in the Defense Department budget since sequestration in 2013.

Some defense officials are worried that these cuts could break the law and harm military readiness. They are concerned about the potential impact on the military's ability to function effectively.

The proposed cuts are likely to face resistance from Congressional Republicans. Many of them have called for increasing the defense budget. Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has called for defense spending to gradually increase to more than $1 trillion per year.

These cuts come at a time when Trump is calling on NATO allies to increase defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This would be a massive hike in spending for nearly every single NATO country. If the US spent five percent of its budget on defense, the military’s budget would exceed $1. 2 trillion.

Big Changes Ahead for Military Spending

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