The Power Players Reimagining The Pentagon: Trump, Musk & Hegseth

PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEF (PDB) – Will it hurt or help? Hegseth seeks $50B in cuts to pay for new priorities. Hegseth has ordered a swift and sweeping review of the Pentagon budget, seeking cuts worth 8 percent of total spending over the next five years that he intends to shift to fund higher priority defense projects, and could reshape military end-strength and readiness for decades.

Members of billionaire Elon Musk’s government efficiency team have arrived at the Pentagon amid unprecedented incursions at other agencies across the federal government.

DOGE is getting lists of Pentagon’s civilian probationary workers from to likely fire soon.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Here’s a roundup of today’s other top defense stories ending the week from conservative national security expert PAUL CRESPO.

Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DEFENSE BRIEFING – the PDB:    

NATIONAL SECURITY

The Trump administration is formally designating eight Latin American crime organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” upping its pressure on cartels operating in the U.S. and on anyone aiding them.

HOMELAND SECURITY

New York Gov. has deployed National Guard troops to secure state-run prisons amid a wildcat strike by corrections workers.

POLITICS

US troops, Afghan allies say Trump executive orders endanger their families.

VA Deputy Secretary nominee grilled by Democrat Senators over recent department layoffs.

SS United States leaves Philadelphia berthing, bound for Alabama before planned sinking to become the “world’s largest artificial reef” about 20 miles off the Okaloosa, Fla., Gulf Coast.

As Melania Trump returns to the White House, she’s winning Chinese fans.

PENTAGON WOKE WATCH

Openly lesbian federal judge appears inclined to block transgender military ban after 2 days of court arguments as a lawsuit proceeds.

One of Trump’s first executive orders labeled a range of mental health conditions as “incompatible” with military service. Experts say Trump put a dark cloud over troops with mental health conditions, many of whom may now “go underground.”

The Naval Academy said it has canceled two classes and is encouraging further review of course material following Trump’s orders to ban all DEI programs in the federal government.

US POWER OVERSEAS

The USS Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (CSG), a French CSG and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer carrier JS Kaga (DDH-184) completed Exercise Pacific Steller 2025, held in the Celebes Sea and Philippine Sea on Tuesday.

Senate Africa chairman Ted Cruz calms ambassadors’ Trump jitters. The freshly named leader of the U.S. Foreign Relations panel on Africa says China, and energy, will be Republican priorities.

IRAN THREAT/ISRAEL WARS

Hamas returns bodies of 4 Israeli hostages said to include a mother and her 2 young children who were long feared dead and embody the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack.

CHINA THREAT

While Trump’s foreign aid freeze and shift in foreign policy offers China an opportunity to enhance its soft power and influence in Africa, experts warn Beijing’s approach to aid won’t be able to fill the critical gaps that the US has been covering.

Australia and New Zealand are monitoring the “unusual” presence of three Chinese naval vessels spotted in international waters off the Australian eastern coast.

RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR

The war of words between Trump and Zelensky erupted on Wednesday in a series of tit-for-tat accusations. The harsh exchanges come in the wake of U.S.-Russia negotiations to end the war and the sudden move to normalize relations between the two superpowers. The talks in Riyadh did not provide Ukraine with a seat at the table.

VIDEO: President Trump addresses Ukraine’s absence during negotiations between US and Russia.

The UK is reportedly prepared to send Typhoon fighters to support a future air policing mission over Ukraine. The proposal comes a day after the leaders of several European nations met to discuss whether to send troops to help bolster any deal to end the Ukraine war.

The head of Swedish manufacturer Saab remains optimistic that the country will decide to send JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter jets to Ukraine and strengthen its strike capabilities on top of US-made F-16 and French Mirage 2000 aircraft.

SPACE THREAT

US policies around weapons in space, its over-classification of space capabilities and a lacking “warfighting ethos” are undermining public perception of the Space Force and “subverting” its legitimacy as a separate military service.

Space Force strategy, resources insufficient to counter China in an increasingly militarized space domain.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Worried NATO members continued their largest combat exercises of 2025 on Wednesday, testing their ability to rapidly deploy large-scale forces on the 32-nation alliance’s eastern border, even as concerns grow over its most powerful member, the U.S., under Trump.

Trump’s media group and the video platform Rumble have jointly filed a lawsuit against a Brazilian supreme court justice weighing Bolsonaro indictment, alleging that he violated the right to free speech of a far-right Brazilian influencer residing in the US.

US MILITARY

The Air Force conducted a test launch of an unarmed nuclear Minuteman III ballistic missile early Wednesday to help ensure its land-based nuclear force operates safely and effectively.

The Navy is on track to meet its highest recruiting numbers in more than 20 years. The service surpassed last year’s target with 40,978 recruits and it is expected to achieve that goal for a second consecutive year.

END of PDB

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.

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