Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announces fresh $850M DOGE cuts at the DOD

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is active in the Department of Defense (DOD), according to a disclosure by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Trump appointee shared a video where he listed the agency’s discoveries and those that have been discontinued. 

In the footage Hegseth posted on his official X page, he announced his decision to sign a memo directing the termination of over $580 million in DOD contracts.

Hegseth said this would only affect the brands that do not align with the priorities of “this president or the department.”

“In other words, they are not a good use of taxpayer dollars,” he said, pointing out that taxpayers fund the department and are owed transparency and the right to know their money is being used well.

Another round of @DOGE findings here at the Department of Defense. pic.twitter.com/PSrHn8Zjlq

— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) March 20, 2025

Hegseth shared programs DOGE has terminated

Hegseth began the list with an HR software effort he said was supposed to take a year and cost $36 million. Unfortunately, it has gone for years and gulped up to $280 million without doing what it was supposed to.

“We’re not doing that anymore,” he said before moving on to reveal they also ended another batch of DOD grants worth $360 million.

Next, he talked about cutting about $11 million from the navy budget and $9 from a university budget geared towards approaching “equitable AI and machine learning models.”

“I need lethal machine learning models, not equitable machine models,” he said.

After that, Hegseth revealed that as part of their effort to curb wasteful spending on external consulting services, they canceled $30 million in contracts with Gartner and McKinsey.

Hegseth said that brings the total amount of cuts up to $800 million. He added this was only possible because the DOD partnered with DOGE as part of its efforts to ensure taxpayer funds are going to the warfighters who actually need them.

“They’re working hard,” Hegseth praised DOGE before adding that the DOD appreciates the nobility of its task to cut excessive spending and is also working hard with them to make it happen.

As the video ended, the Defense Secretary said no more time would be wasted and promptly signed the documents making the cuts permanent.

In the comment section of the post, rather than appreciative comments from a public who recognizes the importance of what DOGE and the DOD are doing, the majority of the replies were scathing.

DOD accused of going too far to eliminate DEI from the armed forces

In the past couple of days, there has been much backlash from US citizens, especially members of the African American community, who feel they are being targeted by efforts disguised as cost-cutting attempts.

Recently, the DOD, following President Trump’s executive order to eliminate DEI from the armed services, has flagged tens of thousands of images, posts, and content for removal.

Some of the posts that have now been removed include references to Black military heroes like the Tuskegee Airmen, Medal of Honor recipients and other notable figures such as Jackie Robinson, as part of what is being called a “Digital Content Refresh” to comply with the directive.

The content that was targeted involved those related to race, ethnicity, and observances like Black History Month, and it has led to the deletion of photos and posts about Black soldiers, women, and minorities, something that has triggered a mass outcry within the African American community.

Jackie Robinson’s page has since been restored to its original URL on the Department of Defense website — and no longer says ‘DEI.’ pic.twitter.com/MQ5csI4XVB

— Pop Base (@PopBase) March 19, 2025

On X, formerly Twitter, many have ranted and raved, calling out the DOD for only getting rid of pictures of colored servicemen while leaving images of only the white ones up and also renaming bases after Confederate generals. They worry this undermines the recognition of the contributions these men made to the war while they lived.

Hegseth, who was appointed in January 2025, is in support of the war against DEI. He has declared “DEI is dead,” and argued that such programs erode camaraderie and threaten military mission execution.

People now link his leadership at the DOD with the erasure of Black soldier history, and many have been seen criticizing or questioning the moves under his X posts.

Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now