Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he has canceled more than $580 million worth of contracts and program spending that he says don't aid warfighting.
On Thursday, Hegseth posted a short video of himself listing some of the contracts he had terminated. One was for a $9 million unnamed university contract "to approach equitable AI and machine learning models." Hegseth said that does not meet the needs of the Defense Department.
"I need lethal machine learning models, not equitable machine learning models," he said.
The largest canceled spending area, he said, was for a batch of Department of Defense grants totaling $360 million intended for "decarbonizing emissions from Navy ships, part of the Obama-Biden green agenda."
Hegseth said one was initially approved at $36 million for Department of Defense human relations software. It was supposed to be for three years. Hegseth said it ran over to eight years, and the bill stood at $280 million.
"We're not doing that anymore," he said.
Hegseth signed the cancellation order in the video, saying the Department of Government Efficiency was a big part of helping to locate what he called unnecessary spending.
"We're going to keep going for you guys," he said.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.