Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is actively working within the Pentagon to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the Defense Department’s massive discretionary budget. Their mission? To eliminate the bureaucratic bloat left behind by the Biden administration and redirect resources toward real national security priorities.
Hegseth Slams ‘Legacy Media’ for Distorting Pentagon Reforms
On Thursday, Hegseth took to X to set the record straight, calling out the media for deliberately misrepresenting the changes underway at the Defense Department since President Trump returned to the White House.
“The American people gave a mandate to President Trump … to double down on [his] priorities — and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Hegseth said. “The legacy media has, of course, a different agenda. You see the same clickbait headlines that I do. Time after time, the media distorts good news stories or often just gets them flat wrong.”
Hegseth said he had just met with DOGE staffers and assured Americans they will have extensive access to Pentagon operations—within necessary security protocols—to identify and eliminate inefficiencies.
“They’re going to have broad access, but obviously with all the safeguards on classification, to find the redundancies and last vestiges in priorities — the DEI, the woke, the climate change B.S. — that are not core to our mission. We’re going to get rid of it all,” he declared.
Reallocating Funds to Real National Defense Priorities
Hegseth explained that DOGE’s initial focus is on cutting bloated headquarters budgets and redirecting those funds to programs that align with Trump’s national security vision. Instead of frivolous social experiments, the Pentagon will reinvest in projects that actually defend America.
“Finding those efficiencies is how we save taxpayer dollars — a good thing that is being distorted in the media,” Hegseth said.
He revealed that roughly $50 billion that had been allocated to “woke, Biden-era, nonlethal programs” is being redirected to critical defense priorities, including:
- Securing the southern border
- Nuclear modernization
- Virginia-class submarines
- Missile defense
“The media wants to call these exclusively cuts, but it’s the opposite, of course, as always is the case,” Hegseth said. “It’s refocusing and reinvesting existing funds into building a force that protects you, the American people.”
Reviewing the Workforce: Cutting the Dead Weight
Like other federal agencies under Trump’s leadership, the Pentagon is conducting a review of its workforce—particularly probationary employees who aren’t contributing to national security. Hegseth made it clear that dead weight will not be tolerated.
“It is simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission-critical, to restore accountability within the federal workforce,” he said. “We’re going to be aggressive — up and down the chain — to find the places where we can ensure the best and brightest are promoted based on merit.”
Hegseth: ‘We’re Rebuilding the World’s Most Capable Military’
Hegseth emphasized that Trump has given him a clear mission: to rebuild the most powerful and effective military in the world.
“Doing so does require tough decisions, [and] we are prepared to make them,” he said.
With Musk’s efficiency team on the job and Trump’s vision guiding the way, the Pentagon is shedding its bureaucratic bloat and shifting gears toward a leaner, stronger, and more lethal national defense. And no amount of media spin can change that reality.
