The newest spherical of contract terminations will deliver the Division of Protection’s whole spending minimize to almost $6 billion, the Pentagon chief mentioned.
The Division of Protection (DOD) will minimize $5.1 billion in consulting and IT contracts that Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth deemed are non-essential, in keeping with an April 10 memo.
Different contracts to be terminated embrace an Air Power contract with Accenture to resell third-party Enterprise Cloud IT Providers, a Navy contract for enterprise course of consulting providers, and the Protection Superior Analysis Tasks Company’s contract for IT assist desk providers.
These contracts, Hegseth mentioned, symbolize “non-essential spending on third social gathering consultants” for providers that extremely expert DOD staff may carry out utilizing present assets.
Deloitte and Accenture didn’t reply to a request for remark by publication time.
Hegseth additionally ordered the termination of 11 different contracts for consulting providers associated to variety, fairness, and inclusion (DEI); local weather insurance policies, COVID-19 response, and nonessential actions throughout the division.
“We’re dedicated to rooting out DEI—root and department—all through this division, and we discovered 11 extra contracts. We’re going to maintain trying,” the Pentagon chief mentioned.
He additionally ordered the cancellation of a $9 million college grant for growing “equitable AI and machine studying fashions,” saying that the DOD wants deadly machine studying fashions as an alternative.
The newest spherical of contract terminations will deliver the DOD’s whole spending minimize to almost $6 billion over the primary six weeks of the Division of Authorities Effectivity’s (DOGE’s) efforts to get rid of wasteful spending throughout the division, Hegseth mentioned.
“[DOGE’s] job is to exit and discover the stuff that we are able to do away with, after which movement again into, drive again into war-fighting capabilities right here on the Protection Division,” he mentioned within the April 10 video.
President Donald Trump signed an govt order on Jan. 20 renaming the prevailing U.S. Digital Service as DOGE and tasked it with reviewing federal businesses for potential downsizing and value reductions. The order states that DOGE’s work is anticipated to be accomplished by July 4, 2026.
To conduct audits, DOGE has been granted entry to federal techniques, sparking authorized challenges from some Democratic lawmakers and labor unions who argued the entry is unconstitutional.
The DOD mentioned it’ll as an alternative redirect assets towards “applied sciences important for sustaining a robust nationwide protection” and fund analysis targeted on growing and fielding superior navy capabilities.
It goals to put money into key areas akin to “hypersonic weapons growth, AI-powered techniques for enhanced battlefield consciousness, and strengthening the home navy industrial base.”