The Department of Defense could save up to $80 million in wasteful spending by cutting loose a handful of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, the agency said Monday.
The Defense Department has been working with the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in slashing wasteful spending, DOD spokesman Sean Parnell said in a video posted to social media.
Parnell listed some of the initial findings flagged by DOGE, much of it consisting of millions of dollars given to support various DEI programs, including $1.9 million for holistic DEI transformation and training in the Air Force and $6 million to the University of Montana to “strengthen American democracy by bridging divides.”
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Among the initial findings were $1.6 million to the University of Florida to study the social and institutional detriment of vulnerability in resilience to climate hazards in Africa.
“This stuff is just not a core function of our military,” Parnell said. “This is not what we do. This stuff is a distraction from our core mission.”
“We believe these initial findings will probably save $80 million in wasteful spending,” he added.
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In an effort to gut spending, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the DOD’s civilian workforce to comply with Musk’s DOGE productivity email, listing five things they accomplished after initially telling them not to reply.
Last week, Hegseth said his agency would work with DOGE, which has conducted reviews of the Treasury, Labor, Education and Health departments, as well as at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of Personnel Management and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
He added that many DOGE workers are veterans, and it is a “good thing” that they will find deficiencies.
“They care just like we do, to find the redundancies and identify the last vestiges of Biden priorities — the DEI, the woke, the climate change B.S., that’s not core to our mission, and we’re going to get rid of it all,” Hegseth said.
DOGE has come under scrutiny, with some accusing President Donald Trump of giving Musk too much leeway and access to sensitive data.
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