Pentagon chief trumpets $5.1B in spending cuts

WASHINGTON

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed a memorandum announcing the cutting of $5.1 billion in "wasteful" Defense Department contracts.

"That's with a 'B'; $5.1 billion in DOD contracts for ancillary things like consulting and other nonessential services," Hegseth said in a video message on Thursday.

The memo lists some of the cuts, including $1.8 billion in consulting contracts the Defense Health Agency awarded to various private sector firms, a $1.4 billion enterprise cloud IT services contract awarded to a software reseller, and a $500 million navy contract for business process consulting, according to the Pentagon.

This cut follows last month's announcement that the department would be cutting $580 million in programs, contracts and grants, as part of a partnership with the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, the controversial Elon Musk-led team tasked with shrinking the government.

"If you're keeping score at home, today's cuts bring our running total to nearly $6 billion in wasteful spending over the first six weeks of the Department of Government Efficiency effort here at the Defense Department," Hegseth said.

Previous tallies of savings claimed by Musk’s team have been shown to be marred with errors, including already canceled spending and some items counted more than once. Musk, a tech billionaire, acknowledged this February that, in his words: “We will make mistakes.”

Last month, Hegseth welcomed Musk at the Pentagon to talk about his efficiency team and innovations.

Musk’s team has drawn accusations of firing people and trying to eliminate agencies in a haphazard way and cutting back on customer service at the Social Security Administration, among other actions. Critics have also said his trying to cut spending at the Pentagon while also vying to win defense contracts is a clear conflict of interest.