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.
Metallica says they stay out of politics, so Danny and Derek are reassessing their approach to the show. In this week’s news: Navi Pillay wins the Nobel Peace Prize, angering Trump (3:51); Ansar Allah strikes Saudi airports and oil facilities (7:58) while fighting continues on multiple fronts in Yemen (11:35); attacks on commercial ships escalate near the Strait of Hormuz (13:45), and the U.S. prepares a new bombing campaign against Iran (15:59); Israeli forces kill at least eight people in Gaza on the first anniversary of the “ceasefire” as the Palestinian Authority postpones elections until at least September 2027 (19:12); in southern Lebanon, Israeli forces demolish dozens of towns and villages (22:22); China’s trade surplus grows at a record pace (24:04); Egyptian drone strikes kill at least 72 gold miners in Sudan (25:43); Ethiopian forces advance toward the Eritrean border (28:20); former Congolese president Joseph Kabila forms a new rebel coalition with M23 (31:38) as the country’s Ebola outbreak surpasses 9,000 confirmed cases (33:27); Trump suspends sanctions on Russian diesel exports and clashes with Zelensky (34:24); Trump declares a Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire that fails to take hold as Ukraine reports several days without Western intelligence on Russian airstrikes (37:40); Ukrainian forces report temporary restrictions on Starlink service (38:52); and the U.S. seeks control of frozen Russian assets held in Europe (43:07).
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More of Danny’s work at Imperialist Realism.
More of Derek’s work at Foreign Exchanges.
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