'Striking assault': Report says Hegseth plans to slash Pentagon and 'revive warrior ethos'

Pete Hegseth, the nation's new Defense Secretary, plans to slash his own agency's defense budget by 8 percent over the next five years and has ordered senior leaders at the Pentagon and throughout the military to develop plans to carry out the cuts.

That's according to The Washington Post, which reported the plan Wednesday, citing a memo and officials familiar with what it called a "striking proposal."

The proposed cuts were to be drafted by Monday, according to the report. Border operations, modernization of nuclear weapons, missile defense, attack drones, submarine acquisition and other munitions are exempt from the cuts.

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The Post dubbed the memo, combined with planned mass firings at the department courtesy of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative, a "striking assault" on the federal government's largest department.

Hegseth wrote in the memo the proposed cuts align with President Donald Trump's "peace through strength" policies.

“The time for preparation is over — we must act urgently to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild our military, and reestablish deterrence,” Hegseth wrote in the memo. “Our budget will resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit.”