Pentagon Cuts Threaten Programs That Secure Loose Nukes and Weapons of Mass Destruction

US agencies responsible for preventing the global proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and building security capacity around the world are facing deep cuts, perhaps total abolition, as the Trump administration continues its assault on any and all spending going overseas.

According to a draft working paper provided to WIRED, the Department of Defense is asking all its agencies and services that conduct “security cooperation” programs to consider the impact if the Pentagon were to “realign” its funding. The authors of the paper warn the cuts could hobble the fight against organized crime in South America, impair the battle against the Islamic State, increase the likelihood of a rogue state producing and using chemical weapons, and defund pandemic surveillance measures.

The working paper is in response to a request for information from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, asking agencies to assess the consequences of four levels of staff reduction—25 percent, 50 percent, and 75 percent cuts, or outright abolition.

This cost-cutting exercise is being conducted in response to a January 20 executive order from President Donald Trump, mandating that departments and agencies review all foreign aid programs. But the DOD review is going well beyond foreign aid. According to the working paper, the Defense Department looks set to make cuts to all humanitarian assistance, security cooperation, and cooperative threat reduction efforts. The DOD has made clear that all spending ought to align with the secretary’s three priorities: deterring China, increasing border security, and pushing allies to shoulder more of the burden. It is not clear what role, if any, Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is playing in these workforce reduction decisions.

Pandemics and Weapons of Mass Destruction

In response to the Pentagon’s request for information, the agencies contemplated lower bounds of cuts of 20, 40, and 60 percent—a counter-offer, the Pentagon source says, because officials in these agencies see a 60-percent cut as a “red line” which would still severely hurt global and domestic security.

A 20 percent reduction in funding, the memos say, would reduce some mine-clearance efforts in former war zones, significantly hurt programs to surveil and prevent infectious disease outbreaks in Africa, and worsen biosafety and biosecurity programs at biological laboratories worldwide, among other losses.

A 40 percent reduction would limit funding for counter-extremism programs in Africa and the Middle East, close all mine-clearance operations, shut down programs to intercept and prevent the development of weapons of mass destruction, and completely shut down biological surveillance programs.

A 60 percent cut would be significantly more severe, according to the memo. It would fundamentally eliminate America’s role in preventing the spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, the documents warn, and increase the likelihood of a lab accident or theft of potentially dangerous biological material.

The Secretary of Defense also asked the agencies to game out the consequences of fully shutting down some of their operations—a move, the agencies claim, that would defund border security measures and anti-drug trafficking efforts.