>>443 ■Pentagon weighs major cuts to top of US military Updated 4:09 PM EDT, Wed March 19, 2025 The plans under consideration include consolidating combatant commands, possibly eliminating a directorate that oversees development, training and education for the joint force, and halting the expansion of US Forces Japan.
The US military’s current annual budget is over $800 billion. “With DOGE, we are focusing as much as we can on headquarters and fat and top-line stuff that allows us to reinvest elsewhere,” Hegseth said at the time. Hegseth ordered the military in February to prepare plans to make drastic budget cuts over the next five years, with an exception for border security, according to a memo obtained by CNN.