- President Donald Trump is looking at making big funding cuts at the Department of Defense. Trump made such remarks during an interview on Sunday.
- The president suggested that, when looking for government waste, the Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, would find hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse.
- Some are now wondering how such cuts might affect future American aid to Ukraine.
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In a wide-ranging interview with Fox News, broadcast on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9, President Donald Trump said Elon Musk, who runs the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), would soon be targeting the Defense Department. DOGE is the organization that the Trump administration tasked with slashing spending from the federal government.
What did the president say about cuts at the Pentagon?
Trump termed Musk’s work at DOGE as “terrific,” which has included efforts to shut down departments, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, and lay off or buy out federal government workers.
The president then noted that Musk is also going to check the military. He said they are going to find hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse.
The president did not elaborate on the specific plan for cuts at the Pentagon. However, back in November, Reuters reported that Trump’s transition team had drawn up a list of potential military officers to be fired.
How might this affect funding for Ukraine?
In addition, Musk’s attempts to slash funding at the Defense Department might threaten future U.S. military support for Ukraine.
A recent weapons package, originating from the Biden administration, has now used up the last of the funding from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. The initiative had allocated a total of about $33 billion in American aid for Ukraine to buy such things as air defense missiles, ammunition and artillery shells.
What about future aid or weapons?
Neither Trump nor Congress has approved new arms shipments to Ukraine since he took office on Jan. 20.
