In a bold and sweeping move that’s sending ripples through the defense establishment, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a series of hard-hitting memos Wednesday aimed squarely at the Pentagon’s bloated bureaucracy. The message is clear: the age of unchecked contractor growth and layered inefficiencies is over. In its place, Hegseth is ushering in an era of sharpened priorities, battlefield readiness, and ruthless fiscal discipline.
In his own words, “Converting consultants into combat power” is the new battle cry. Hegseth, appearing in a video posted to X, said the Department of Defense has already realized $10 billion in real savings from cost-cutting reforms. The orders were coordinated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—a key partner in what Hegseth calls a campaign to “restore the warrior ethos.”
The first major reform halts any new non-DoD IT or consulting contracts unless reviewed by Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg. With consulting services and IT spending often spiraling into black holes of bureaucratic redundancy, this move alone could close several leak points in the defense budget. Contracts under $10 million for IT and under $1 million for consulting are exempt—but engineering, weapons systems, and critical programs remain protected.
Importantly, agencies are barred from gaming the system by splitting contracts to avoid the cuts. “We likely have more contractors than civilian employees,” Hegseth noted—an indictment of a Pentagon culture that’s often relied more on outsourced expertise than internal accountability.
Update: The important work from @DOGE continues at the pentagon. pic.twitter.com/ijavEa66kJ
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 28, 2025
In another aggressive cut, executive assistants (EAs)—often symbolic of bureaucratic privilege—will be heavily restricted for top brass, including all undersecretaries and the Inspector General. These roles, focused on scheduling, travel, and internal coordination, have ballooned in cost with minimal impact on operational efficiency.
By trimming these layers of administrative support, Hegseth signals that everyone—top to bottom—must embrace leaner government.
Perhaps the most controversial move comes in the dramatic downsizing of the Office of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (ODOT&E)—the body that tests and validates weapons systems. Its civilian workforce will be capped at 30, with no more than 15 military staff and a single Senior Executive Service official. All non-statutory and redundant functions? Eliminated.
This move, estimated to save $300 million annually, may draw criticism from those who see oversight as critical, but Hegseth makes no apology. The mission, he insists, is warfighting first—and bureaucracy second.
This isn’t Hegseth’s first foray into financial reform. In March, he cancelled $580 million in contracts, signaling early that restoring military readiness and eliminating excess would be a signature of his tenure.
Critics may claim the moves are too aggressive, or even reckless. But Hegseth’s strategy is built on a wartime mindset: resources must be marshaled for the battlefield, not buried in back-office systems. Every dollar spent on bloated staff or vague consulting gigs is a dollar not spent on force readiness, advanced systems, or the warfighter’s needs.