Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the termination of over $580 million in Department of Defense contracts and grants deemed misaligned with departmental priorities. The move follows ongoing audits by the Department of Government Efficiency and adds to $220 million in cuts previously announced, totaling $800 million.
Among the canceled contracts were an HR software system that ballooned to $280 million over eight years, a $6 million Navy ship decarbonization plan, $30 million in consulting contracts, a $5.2 million Navy diversity program, and a $9 million “equitable AI” initiative. “I need lethal machine learning models, not equitable machine learning models,” Hegseth stated.
Hegseth has also laid off thousands of probationary employees and offered a deferred resignation program, though his target of reducing civilian staff by 5–8% has only been partially met.
His predecessor, Lloyd Austin, proposed a $50 billion increase in defense spending before leaving office. Congress’s latest defense budget stands at $892.5 billion, $8 billion more than the previous year.
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