Hagel Supports Budget Cuts To Defense Spending And Marginalized The Impact Of Sequestration
Hagel Said Defense Budget Was “Bloated,” Adding “The Pentagon Needs To Be Pared Down” When Asked About Devastating Defense Cuts Caused By Sequestration. QUESTION: “On this Joint Committee that’s being created, Leon Panetta, our Defense Secretary, has warned of really dire consequences to U.S. national security if this so-called trigger gets pulled, in which case we would see $600 billion in automatic cuts to the Defense Department. Do you agree with his assessment that that would be very harmful to national security.” CHUCK HAGEL: “Defense Department, I think, in may ways, has been bloated. So I think the Pentagon needs to be pared down. I don’t think that our military has really looked at themselves strategically, critically, in a long, long time.” [The Financial Times, 9/1/11]