MAGA Defense Cuts?
On this episode of American Prestige, William Hartung on the Trump administration’s planned budget cuts for the Pentagon.

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On this episode of American Prestige, William Hartung — senior research fellow focusing on the arms industry and US military budget at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft — joins the program to discuss reports that the Trump administration is planning “sweeping budget cuts” for the Pentagon. We talk about these “cuts” being more accurately termed “reinvestments” into other areas, the enormous amount of defense spending and the culture that engendered this, how the defense industry has changed in the past 20 years, actual moves that could meaningfully reduce the military budget like reducing bloated systems (F-35s, aircraft carriers) and overseas bases, whether there exists an influential constituency to support military budget cuts, and more.
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US Pentagon in Washington DC building looking down aerial view from above
(Ivan Cholakov / Shutterstock)On this episode of American Prestige, William Hartung—senior research fellow focusing on the arms industry and US military budget at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft—joins the program to discuss reports that the Trump administration is planning “sweeping budget cuts” for the Pentagon. We talk about these “cuts” being more accurately termed “reinvestments” into other areas, the enormous amount of defense spending and the culture that engendered this, how the defense industry has changed in the past 20 years, actual moves that could meaningfully reduce the military budget like reducing bloated systems (F-35s, aircraft carriers) and overseas bases, whether there exists an influential constituency to support military budget cuts, and more.
Read William’s recent piece on this, “Hegseth orders 8% cut to Pentagon budget. Not so fast.”
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Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.
Danny and Derek speak with historian Andrew Preston about the origins and development of the American national security state as we know it. They discuss the original meaning of “national security” in the early days of the republic; the idea of free security; the New Deal and the relationship between social security and national security; World War II, the Cold War, and the expansion of the security state; liberalism and American empire; and what national security looks like moving forward.
Be sure to grab a copy of Andrew’s book on the subject, Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security.
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