Hegseth cuts $580 million in contracts, grants with DOGE’s help

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday he is canceling more than $580 million in contracts and grants that do not align with the Trump administration’s priorities as the Pentagon deepens its ties with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. 

Among those cancelled programs is an HR software effort that initially expected to be completed in one year with a projected cost of $36 million. The project is now in its eighth year and $280 million over budget.

“That’s 780% over budget. We’re not doing that anymore,” Hegseth said in a video posted on social media platform X.

He also canceled a series of DoD grants worth about $350 million, including funding aimed at decarbonizing emissions from Navy ships, which was part of the Obama-Biden administrations’ green agenda. 

Another $5.2 million canceled grant, intended to expand access for underrepresented BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students and scholars to naval career pathways, particularly in STEM fields and leadership roles, was also cut.

Hegseth also canceled a $9 million grant awarded to a university for research on equitable AI  and machine learning models.

“I need lethal machine learning models, not equitable machine learning models,” Hegseth said.

Additionally, the Pentagon is canceling $30 million worth of contracts with consulting firms Gartner and McKinsey for IT services.

“When you add it all up, $580 million in DoD contracts and grants DOGE is helping us cut today,” Hegseth said.

“They are not a good use of taxpayer dollars. Ultimately, that’s who funds us, and we owe you transparency and make sure we’re using it well.”

So far, DOGE has identified $800 million in what it deems wasteful spending.

In its initial round, DOGE identified $80 million in wasteful spending to slash, including a $1.9 million for diversity, equity and inclusion training in the Air Force and $6 million to the University of Montana to “strengthen American democracy by bridging divides.”

“As DoD partners with DOGE we’re here to make sure that our war fighters have what they need by cutting the waste, fraud and abuse, they’re working hard. We’re working hard with them. We appreciate the work that they’re doing, and we have a lot more coming. Stay tuned,” Hegseth said.

If you would like to contact this reporter about recent changes in the federal government, please email anastasia.obis@federalnewsnetwork.com or reach out on Signal at (301) 830-2747

Copyright © 2026 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.