Thanks to Rep. Joe Courtney for pointing out that the Defense budget process is suffering while so much attention is focused on reconciliation. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ2l...

Good for Rep. Garamendi for pointing out that "agile funding" takes away Congress's power of the purse. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ2l...

Glad to hear Army Secretary Driscoll talking about right to repair, but I don't understand why he doesn't recognize his own role in acquiring the data he needs for this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ2l...

Glad to hear HASC Chairman Wilson's endorsement of right-to-repair in today's hearing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ2l...

Saving $30 million by reducing independent testing of weapons systems right before having a $45 million parade defies reason. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

This series does what a lot of military reporting does: It takes a basic failure of management and turns it into a sexy high-tech story. breakingdefense.com/2025/05/the-...

Guaranteeing the right to repair represents a big potential savings. In 2024, the Army spent $billions to have contractors repair its equipment, and the Defense Department as a whole spent $tens of billions. media.defense.gov/2025/May/01/...

To me, this only underscores how hollow Feinberg’s Monday memo really is — all performance, no substance. And honestly, it just makes Hegseth’s memo look slightly less empty by comparison. Which is saying something. www.defense.gov/News/News-St...

Amid reports that Sec. Hegseth is looking to make significant cuts to some Pentagon programs, it's a good time to highlight POGO's work to do exactly that. As a start we've got 3 key ways to cut defense spending:

This should alarm everyone who cares about government accountability. The Secretary of Defense is calling for an IG investigation into Milley—just days after an IG purge. This reeks of politicization—and it threatens independent oversight.

Tuesday's loss of an F-35 fighter is a tragic loss of a $135 million piece of equipment and we're happy the pilot is safe. It's too soon to comment on the significance of this event, but POGO often written about the schedule, cost and effectiveness problems of the F-35. www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/u...

Why did Sen. Mark Kelly accept answers of "anonymous smear" in response to true-or-false questions posed to Hegseth?

I'm surprised Hegseth had nothing to say about leading an audit: Non-profit organizations are audited every year. As executive director of two non-profits, how did he avoid involvement in their audits?

Sen. Mullin raises a good point: The Secretary of Defense relies heavily on staff to operationalize his/her strategic vision. Unfortunately, this case, Hegseth's Deputy Secretary of Defense - Steve Feinberg - also has no government experience.

As far as I can tell, since 2000, every Secretary of Defense has previously managed an organization of at least 20,000 staff, and that was Leon Panetta, who ran the CIA. The next largest would be Generals Matts and Austin, who each ran combatant commands of 55,000 people.

Sen. Warren, Pete Hegseth and POGO all agree that the revolving door between the Defense Department the defense industry is "corrosive". Interestingly, Hegseth declined to make the same pledge to not take a job in the defense industry that he has advocated all generals take.

Sen. King asked Hegseth to affirm he would follow the Geneva Conventions by upholding the prohibition against waterboarding. Hegseth has previously advocated waterboarding.

Sen. King asked an important question: Will Hegseth follow U.S. laws that incorporate the Geneva Conventions. Hegseth makes meaningful distinctions between laws and rules of engagement. Still, it's troubling that Hegseth declined to affirm he would enforce those U.S. laws.

For the record, Hegseth has multiple tattoos, and the one often cited as problematic is not the one he just mentioned. It's the "Deus Vult" tattoo on his bicep. abcnews.go.com/US/pete-hegs...

I'm not sure why Sen. Sullivan and Pete Hegseth think it's inappropriate about the Secretary of Navy being concerned about climate change. "Climate change is one of the most destabilizing forces of our time." www.navy.mil/Portals/1/Do...

Wow. Hegseth declined Sen. Hirono's request that he affirm he'd disobey an order from Trump to shoot protesters in the leg. He evaded the question. This calls into question Hegseth's commitment to the Constitution and lawful orders.

I'm glad Hegseth affirmed his commitment to a clean audit of the Pentagon.

Hegseth says he was "extremely proud" of his work at Veterans for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America despite Sen. Blumenthal pointing out Hegseth ran both organizations into debt. I'm glad Sen. Blumenthal entered the tax returns into the record. I was unable to find them on IRS.gov.

Sen. Gillibrand asked Hegseth for examples of standards that have been relaxed for women. He did not offer any, despite insisting they existed. Gillibrand then offered a useful example of how the presence of women in combat units increased their effectiveness.

Sen. Shaheen asked Hegseth whether he'd uphold the Women, Peace and Security Act (S.1141) signed by Trump. He said he'd review and consider it. That seems to fall short of the oath to uphold the Constitution.

Chairman Wicker denied ranking member Reed's request that the FBI background report be made available to all members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He cited precedent.

Hegseth's insistence that we spend 3+% of our GDP on defense continues a longstanding and problematic tradition of measuring our defense by how much we spend rather than the capabilities we acquire through those expenditures.

Hegseth's response to Wicker's question about sexual misconduct claims it was a "coordinated smear campaign" by left wing media. This doesn't address his mother's e-mail calling him an "abuser of women". I acknowledge his mother has since called him a changed man. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/29/u...

SASC Ranking member just challenged Hegseth on his suggestion that we abandon the Geneva Conventions and follow our own rules. This seems to contradict FM 3-24, which describes following the laws of war as an "essential part of the Warrior Ethos" (p. 244). archive.org/details/usar...

Chairman Wicker just pointed out that the Secretary of Defense "must be supported by exceptional subordinates". Trumps nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense (AKA "Pentagon Chief Operating Officer") who has no experience in government service.

I'm watching Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing now. You can watch it too at: www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings/to-...