Virginia Subs, Some Surface Ships Safe in New Pentagon FY 2026 Budget Review
Mallory Shelbourne and Sam LaGrone
February 20, 2025 7:25 PM
Virginia-class submarines,“executable” surface ships and nuclear modernization are exempt from a budget effort led by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to shift $50 billion in Pentagon funds to Trump administration priorities, USNI News has learned.
The offsets, due on Feb. 24, are part of an overall Fiscal Year 2026 budget “relook” that will reshape the Pentagon’s spending priorities in line with guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget and move through the office the deputy defense secretary and the office of the director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation.
“The Department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars,” reads a Wednesday press statement.
“The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities.”
In a Feb. 18 memo to senior Pentagon leadership and combatant commanders, Hegseth provided a loose outline of his priorities for the budget.
https://news.usni.org/2025/02/20/virginia-subs-some-surface-ships-safe-in-new-pentagon-fy-2026-budget-review
