Instead of Needed Reductions, Trump’s Pentagon “Cuts” are Actually Harmful Reallocations

In response to the Trump administration’s proposed reallocations within and from the Pentagon budget, Center for International Policy president and CEO Nancy Okail issued the following statement:

“Cutting out-of-control Pentagon spending should be a top priority. A good-faith process of reducing our military budget to actually align with U.S. interests would contribute greatly to a more secure world and a healthier, more equitable and more competitive America.

“What the Trump Administration has proposed is not that. It is merely a ‘reallocation’ — yet another scam to harm marginalized communities, trash the environment, and erode basic rights while redirecting taxpayer dollars to further enrich favored defense contractors and Trump’s billionaire backers.

“As with its other assaults on agencies across the U.S. government, the administration is falsely scapegoating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives alongside efforts to combat climate change as top causes of waste. Targeting these modest yet important programs as a priority for cost savings at what is arguably the world’s most bloated bureaucracy defies credulity. 

“It is also not clear there will actually be any cost savings, as what the administration first touted as budget reductions or were just hours later described as ‘offsets’ or ‘reallocations’ that would exempt large swaths of spending and pay for massive new projects and weapons systems. These include boondoggles like a fantastical domestic ‘Iron Dome’ missile defense system and new nuclear weapons that arms experts believe are not only unnecessary, but are so dangerous that they could trigger an accidental nuclear war. Unsurprisingly, many of the companies that stand to make a taxpayer-funded fortune from these wasteful new schemes are headed by wealthy backers of President Trump.

“Trump’s reallocation proposal is little more than a cup-and-ball grift that will continue taxpayer-funded waste at the Pentagon, shuffling it to the personal benefit of Trump and his billionaire associates, while worsening the security threats faced by the United States. A serious process of right-sizing military spending is desperately overdue. Countries that have prioritized their people above their arms industry’s profit margins are outpacing us in health, education, infrastructure, economic competitiveness and overall quality of life. 

“While these false cuts are a huge missed opportunity that abandon the powerful anti-war and anti-status quo sentiments that Trump successfully leveraged in his presidential campaign, they also demonstrate that Pentagon reductions are not the third rail they are often believed to be. Pentagon bloat makes us less safe and there is no shortage of serious plans for strategic reductions that improve human security. Lawmakers and other policy professionals should therefore not merely oppose Trump’s fake cuts, but also present an ambitious and feasible plan for genuine transformations that prioritize the pressing needs of American citizens while ensuring their security.”

For additional analysis related to military spending, check out Center for International Policy’s Climate and Militarism Program (CAMP) and Security Assistance Monitor (SAM).