President Donald Trump's administration is about to cut $50 billion across many areas of the Pentagon's budget and direct it towards its top priorities, including stopping illegal immigration.
There has been a list of the generals and admirals who may get fired circulating, which Republican members of Congress have been privy to.
Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses, in a Military Times report, directed defense officials to find at least $50 billion in budget reductions and transfer them to "programs aligned with President Trump's priorities."
NBC News, on the other hand, said funding for the Indo-Pacific region would not be touched.
Earlier reports indicated that the budget cut would be 8 percent, initially appearing to be a total cut to the $849.8 billion defense budget.
As reported by NBC citing officials, the list of firings mostly consists of those closely associated with former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, those working on minority-oriented programs, or those whose opinions were politically out of sync with Trump's agenda. It is unknown as of now if Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown is included in the list.
Trump has already fired Admiral Linda Fagan, the top female officer and head of the Coast Guard.
Part of continued efforts in downsizing the government workforce, a number of probationary employees in the Department of Defense received notice of their termination.
Aside from the Indo-Pacific, other priority areas have been spared cuts in the budget, such as US border missions with Mexico, missile defense capabilities, and autonomous weapons programs.
Salesses pointed out that Trump's priorities involve expanding the Iron Dome missile defense system, securing borders, and eradicating what he described as "radical and wasteful" Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
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