President Donald Trump is turning the attention of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to the Department of Defense (DOD). Should anyone ask why the focus is on the DOD, the Willie Sutton Rule is the answer. When Sutton, a notorious bank robber in the 1930s, was asked by a journalist why he robbed banks, he famously replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” The same can be said for the Pentagon with its $850+ billion budget.
The Bigger the Agency, the Bigger the DOGE Target
The bigger an agency’s budget, the bigger the opportunity for waste and inefficiency. Since the DOD took shape on Aug. 10, 1949, when the innocuously named National Security Establishment was redesignated the Department of Defense, it has had the largest discretionary budget in the government. Consequently, the agency has been the target of budget cutters for 75 years, with little success — until now. Trump established DOGE with billionaire Elon Musk as its director to find waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiencies in the federal government. The Financial Times explained:
“Trump said Musk had been ‘terrific’ and a ‘great help’ in scouring the federal government for possible spending cuts so far. He indicated that the defense department, which has an annual budget of about $800bn, would be next in the billionaire’s sights. ‘Let’s check the military. We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse. You know, the people elected me on that,’ Trump said.”
Making Musk’s job easier, the new Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is putting out the welcome mat for DOGE. Cooperation within the Pentagon will be crucial for DOGE inspectors to be successful. RealClearPolitics published a Fox News interview in which Maria Bartiromo asked Secretary Hegseth if the American people could anticipate the deep dive into spending to turn up “wasted and misused funds.” He responded, “Unfortunately, I think so … We welcome Elon Musk and DOGE coming into our department to help us identify additional ways in which we can streamline costs, fast-track acquisitions, cut waste, cut tail to put it to tooth.”
For the DOGE team to be successful, it will have to come to grips with the three Ps: programs, processes, and people. The biggest target and most lucrative for cost-cutting are programs. It’s no secret that Major Defense Acquisition Programs, or MDAPs, are the most susceptible to large cost overruns. The definition of an MDAP is established in statute and is based on program cost. A program becomes an MDAP when it reaches “(A) an eventual total expenditure for research, development, test, and evaluation of more than $300,000,000 (based on fiscal year 1990 constant dollars); or (B) an eventual total expenditure for procurement, including all planned increments or spirals, of more than $1,800,000,000 (based on fiscal year 1990 constant dollars),” according to 10 US Code Section 4201.
Programs Are a Big Source for Cost Cutting
Some MDAPs have experienced cost overruns and been canceled after billions of dollars were expended, with nothing to show for the effort. Evaluating programs with runaway expenditures is tricky because some are vital to national security. Hegseth told Bartiromo, “Modernization is an incredibly important part of what we’re doing at DOD. Take our nuclear triad, for example. Russia’s got a massive nuclear arsenal, China is racing to build theirs quickly, with hundreds of new nuclear weapons year by year. We need to update our nuclear triad on land, on sea, and in air.” However, the Sentinel land-based intercontinental ballistic missile modernization program is one of those racking up cost overruns.
A 2024 Liberty Nation News report observed: “When it comes to those underpinning America’s safety in a perilous world, nuclear deterrence is at the top of the list. So, finding that a significant leg of the triad is now over cost and behind schedule is raising alarm.” Getting these charges under control will likely be a priority for DOGE. Next, evaluating existing programs for the threat they address is significant. No more throwing money away like the US Army did by suddenly canceling the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA). After years in development and spending $2 billion, the US Army decided it didn’t need FARA after all.
The second “P” is process. DOGE would do well to look at organizations with titles such as Performance Improvement Officer and Director of Administration and Management (PIO/DA&M). The only evidence that the PIO had done anything is a 173-page document called “DOD Strategic Management Plan (2022-2026)” completely absent any proof of improved performance or cost savings. The DA&M part of the organization has been useful over the years in managing Pentagon personnel, budgets, and contracts. The PIO adds no value. Pare down or eliminate the process, and the people are excess.
“America First means that our national security interests come first — before ‘human rights,’ before the ‘rules-based international order,’ before allied interests, before combatting climate change, before arms control, before promoting democracy,” observed RealClearDefense. DOGE has a serious task as it enters the target-rich environment of the Pentagon.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
