Washington bureaucrats have never met a dollar they couldn’t waste. For decades, bloated government agencies have treated taxpayer money like an all-you-can-eat buffet, piling their plates high with pet projects and ideological indulgences.
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Remember when the government spent $2 million studying how long shrimp can run on a treadmill? Or $856,000 to determine if taking selfies makes you happier? Those head-scratchers barely scratch the surface of Uncle Sam’s spending addiction.
The Department of Defense announced Monday that its collaboration with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team has identified approximately $80 million in wasteful spending that will likely be cut.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell revealed the findings in a video statement that has fiscal conservatives cheering.
From Breitbart:
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell announced on Monday evening in a video statement that the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, team at the department has identified about $80 million in spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion that will likely be cut…
“You see, folks, this stuff is not a core function of our military. This is not what we do. This is a distraction from our core mission.â€
Parnell’s blunt assessment cuts to the heart of growing concerns that America’s military has strayed from its primary purpose – defending the nation – and wandered into social engineering territory that does nothing to improve readiness or lethality.
DEI Programs on the Chopping Block
The DOGE team’s investigation revealed several questionable spending items that have little to do with national defense. The Air Force had earmarked nearly $2 million for “holistic DEI transformation and training.â€
What the heck does that mean?
Another $3.5 million was discovered at the Defense Human Resources Activity for “support to DEI groups.†That’s money that could purchase actual military equipment or improve training for service members.
The University of Montana received $6 million to “strengthen American democracy by bridging divides.†While that might sound noble, it’s fair to ask why the Pentagon is funding social science experiments when there are adversaries building hypersonic missiles.
Perhaps most puzzling was $1.6 million allocated to the University of Florida to study “social and institutional detriments of vulnerability and resilience to climate hazards in the African Sahel.†Apparently, the Pentagon’s job is now saving the Sahel, not saving America.
Beyond DEI: Even More Waste
While DEI programs represent the low-hanging fruit of government waste, the DOGE team’s investigation is just starting to uncover the Pentagon’s spending excesses. The $80 million identified so far appears to be just the appetizer in a buffet of bureaucratic bloat.
According to retired Air Force Col. Robert L. Maness, the U.S. Navy spends a whopping $40 million annually on “bizarre marine animal experiments.†These include putting headphones on marine animals to blast loud noises in their ears and teaching them to play video games. You can’t make this stuff up. Perhaps next they’ll fund dolphin dance classes or octopus origami workshops.
But the real budget-buster dwarfs these programs. The F-35 fighter jet program has ballooned to an estimated lifetime cost of $1.7 trillion, with each jet costing upwards of $100 million before maintenance. Despite this astronomical price tag, the jets were only 55% mission-capable last year – far below the 80% target.
Just the Beginning of Budget Cuts
Parnell made it clear that Monday’s announcement represents only the initial findings of the efficiency review. “We are working hand in glove with DOGE, so stay tuned in the weeks ahead as we trim the fat, preserve the muscle, make the DOD more mission capable and more lethal,†he promised.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has welcomed Musk’s DOGE team into the Pentagon, acknowledging that “there are wastes, redundancies and headcounts in headquarters that need to be addressed.â€
The team’s efforts align perfectly with the administration’s pledge to bring business-like efficiency to government operations.
By redirecting funds from ideological pet projects to core defense capabilities, the Pentagon can better fulfill its constitutional mandate to provide for the common defense.
This return to fiscal responsibility represents the conservative principle that government should be limited to its essential functions – and defending the nation is certainly more essential than teaching dolphins to play Xbox.