WEBVTT 00:01.679 --> 00:03.790 Greetings once again from the Defense 00:03.790 --> 00:06.068 Department . You , the American people , 00:06.068 --> 00:08.290 work really hard to support the men and 00:08.290 --> 00:10.401 women in uniform who keep our country 00:10.401 --> 00:12.640 safe . We in turn owe you transparency 00:12.930 --> 00:15.041 on what we're doing to accomplish our 00:15.041 --> 00:17.097 core mission , which is securing the 00:17.097 --> 00:18.986 nation and spending your taxpayer 00:18.986 --> 00:21.219 dollars , ours wisely . We're gonna 00:21.219 --> 00:23.441 shoot straight with you . We want you , 00:23.441 --> 00:25.608 the American people , the taxpayers to 00:25.608 --> 00:27.386 understand why we're making the 00:27.386 --> 00:29.552 decisions that we're making here first 00:29.552 --> 00:31.497 and foremost as we're executing as 00:31.497 --> 00:33.608 quickly as possible the priorities of 00:33.608 --> 00:35.775 President Donald Trump achieving peace 00:35.775 --> 00:37.608 through strength , restoring the 00:37.608 --> 00:39.830 warrior ethos , rebuilding our military 00:39.830 --> 00:42.052 and reestablishing deterrence those are 00:42.052 --> 00:44.052 no brainers and the American people 00:44.052 --> 00:46.163 gave a mandate to President Trump and 00:46.163 --> 00:48.299 through him to us to double down on 00:48.299 --> 00:50.299 those priorities and that's exactly 00:50.299 --> 00:52.799 what we're doing . Now the legacy media 00:52.799 --> 00:55.150 has of course a different agenda . You 00:55.150 --> 00:57.372 see the same clickbait headlines that I 00:57.372 --> 00:59.549 do time after time the media distorts 00:59.549 --> 01:01.900 good news stories or often just gets 01:01.900 --> 01:04.730 them flat wrong . In many cases , well , 01:04.980 --> 01:06.980 in most cases they have an agenda . 01:06.980 --> 01:09.147 Other times they are just lazy as they 01:09.147 --> 01:11.369 often are , and they don't take time to 01:11.369 --> 01:13.339 actually understand the facts . I 01:13.339 --> 01:15.283 encourage you to take that media , 01:15.379 --> 01:17.650 those negative reports about important 01:17.650 --> 01:19.594 decisions that we're making at the 01:19.594 --> 01:21.620 department with a gigantic grain of 01:21.620 --> 01:24.389 salt , please . Ever since I've taken 01:24.389 --> 01:26.500 this position , the only thing I care 01:26.500 --> 01:28.360 about is doing right by the war 01:28.360 --> 01:31.110 fighters , by the troops . In short , 01:31.430 --> 01:33.949 we want the biggest , most badass 01:33.949 --> 01:36.790 military on the planet on God's green 01:36.790 --> 01:39.220 earth . I'm in this room right now , 01:39.230 --> 01:41.379 but I'm not alone . Behind the camera 01:41.580 --> 01:43.636 are lots of vets and military family 01:43.636 --> 01:45.636 members along with other people who 01:45.636 --> 01:48.180 like you are invested in exactly what 01:48.180 --> 01:51.620 that core mission is . So when we make 01:51.620 --> 01:53.731 decisions that are misreported in the 01:53.731 --> 01:55.731 media we're gonna try to get you as 01:55.731 --> 01:57.731 quickly as possible and not just me 01:57.731 --> 01:59.787 it'll be other people as well so you 01:59.787 --> 02:01.787 understand the real thought process 02:01.787 --> 02:04.009 behind them and then how they relate to 02:04.009 --> 02:05.842 our core mission of fighting and 02:05.842 --> 02:08.120 winning war , hopefully deterring them , 02:08.120 --> 02:10.120 but fighting and winning wars , and 02:10.120 --> 02:12.342 then how we spend your taxpayer dollars 02:12.342 --> 02:14.509 wisely to accomplish that mission . So 02:14.509 --> 02:16.731 to that end we have 3 stories that have 02:16.731 --> 02:16.419 come out , stay with me 3 stories over 02:16.419 --> 02:18.586 the past couple of days that I want to 02:18.586 --> 02:20.586 update you on . The first is Doge . 02:20.586 --> 02:22.641 They're here and we're wel welcoming 02:22.641 --> 02:24.863 them . In fact , right over there about 02:24.863 --> 02:27.086 20 minutes ago I just met with them and 02:27.086 --> 02:29.252 we're gonna be incorporating into what 02:29.252 --> 02:31.363 we're doing at DOD everything they're 02:31.363 --> 02:33.475 doing to find fraud , waste and abuse 02:33.475 --> 02:35.641 in the largest discretionary budget in 02:35.641 --> 02:37.808 the federal government . They're gonna 02:37.808 --> 02:40.270 have broad access obviously with all 02:40.270 --> 02:42.381 the safeguards on classification they 02:42.381 --> 02:44.437 know that many of them are vets they 02:44.437 --> 02:46.270 care just like we do to find the 02:46.270 --> 02:48.214 redundancies and identify the last 02:48.214 --> 02:50.990 vestiges of Biden priorities the DEI , 02:51.029 --> 02:53.509 the woke , the climate change BS that's 02:53.509 --> 02:55.550 not core to our mission . And we're 02:55.550 --> 02:58.110 gonna get rid of it all with Doge we're 02:58.110 --> 03:00.149 focusing as much as we can on 03:00.149 --> 03:03.029 headquarters and fat and redundancies 03:03.029 --> 03:05.110 and top line stuff that allows us to 03:05.110 --> 03:07.779 reinvest elsewhere . We welcome Doge 03:07.779 --> 03:09.890 and finding those efficiencies is how 03:09.890 --> 03:12.309 we save taxpayer dollars . That is a 03:12.309 --> 03:14.253 good thing that of course is being 03:14.253 --> 03:16.253 distorted through the media , their 03:16.253 --> 03:18.320 hyperventilation , and it just goes 03:18.320 --> 03:20.542 entirely unreported for the most part . 03:20.710 --> 03:22.932 Now the second story , uh , in the news 03:22.932 --> 03:25.550 is our work reorienting the budget that 03:25.550 --> 03:27.883 we inherited . We inherited that budget . 03:28.589 --> 03:30.500 One month ago from the Biden 03:30.500 --> 03:32.940 administration . We are refocusing , 03:32.979 --> 03:35.201 that's a key word , our existing budget 03:35.201 --> 03:37.201 away from the Biden priorities that 03:37.201 --> 03:39.899 frankly were all over the map to 03:39.899 --> 03:41.699 President Trump's priorities of 03:41.699 --> 03:45.490 building a lethal fighting force . The 03:45.490 --> 03:47.601 media wants to call these exclusively 03:47.601 --> 03:50.440 cuts . But it's the opposite of course 03:50.440 --> 03:52.759 as always is the case . I've got the 03:52.759 --> 03:56.309 memo right here it's clear as a bell 03:56.759 --> 03:58.981 now beginning right away we are pulling 03:59.139 --> 04:02.910 around 8% or $50 billion from the Biden 04:02.910 --> 04:04.688 budget . We're planning this is 04:04.688 --> 04:06.800 planning for this year that we will 04:06.800 --> 04:09.050 move away from woke Biden era 04:09.050 --> 04:11.720 non-lethal programs and instead spend 04:11.720 --> 04:14.479 that money on President Trump's America 04:14.479 --> 04:16.701 first peace through strength priorities 04:16.701 --> 04:18.979 for our national budget . First of all , 04:18.979 --> 04:21.090 remember this is all planning . We're 04:21.090 --> 04:23.201 asking the services to plan . So it's 04:23.201 --> 04:24.979 not a cut , it's refocusing and 04:24.979 --> 04:27.440 reinvesting existing funds into 04:27.440 --> 04:29.496 building a force that protects you , 04:29.496 --> 04:31.970 the American people . We also list on 04:31.970 --> 04:34.649 page 2 , which I've marked up here in 04:34.649 --> 04:37.410 our memo , what is not part of the 8% 04:37.410 --> 04:40.290 refocusing of funds . It's created very 04:40.290 --> 04:42.234 stated very clearly here Southwest 04:42.234 --> 04:43.901 border activities , combating 04:43.901 --> 04:45.957 transnational criminal organizations 04:45.957 --> 04:48.329 and audit , nuclear modernization , uh , 04:48.410 --> 04:50.577 Virginia class submarines , the Golden 04:50.577 --> 04:53.200 Dome or or Iron Dome , uh , one way 04:53.609 --> 04:56.170 attack drones , UAVs , cybersecurity , 04:56.290 --> 04:58.512 core readiness , training , the defense 04:58.512 --> 05:00.940 industrial base , and it goes on . They 05:00.940 --> 05:02.884 and other key programs are off the 05:02.884 --> 05:05.051 table under this program . They're too 05:05.051 --> 05:07.218 important , as are many other things . 05:07.218 --> 05:09.440 So this is great news for taxpayers and 05:09.440 --> 05:11.496 for our national security . That's a 05:11.496 --> 05:13.662 full stop . We'll just put a period on 05:13.662 --> 05:15.718 that one . And third and the 3rd and 05:15.718 --> 05:17.884 final bogus story uh that is out there 05:18.029 --> 05:20.149 is around our reevaluation of our 05:20.149 --> 05:22.309 probationary workforce . Now this is 05:22.309 --> 05:24.476 part of something that was mandated by 05:24.476 --> 05:26.698 an executive order from the president . 05:26.698 --> 05:28.976 Remember , President Trump was elected . 05:28.976 --> 05:31.198 He is the positive , the prerogative to 05:31.198 --> 05:33.309 to advance executive orders . Our job 05:33.309 --> 05:35.587 is to follow them and we're doing that . 05:35.587 --> 05:37.476 This reevaluation of probationary 05:37.476 --> 05:39.198 employees is being done across 05:39.198 --> 05:41.253 government , not just at the Defense 05:41.253 --> 05:43.198 Department . But we believe in the 05:43.198 --> 05:45.253 goals of the program and our leaders 05:45.253 --> 05:47.420 are carrying out that review carefully 05:47.420 --> 05:49.531 and swiftly . Now bottom line , it is 05:49.531 --> 05:51.587 simply not in the public interest to 05:51.587 --> 05:53.753 retain individuals whose contributions 05:53.753 --> 05:56.059 are not mission critical and to restore 05:56.059 --> 05:58.059 accountability within the federal 05:58.059 --> 06:00.779 workforce . Taxpayers deserve to have 06:00.779 --> 06:03.859 us take a really thorough look at our 06:03.859 --> 06:06.179 workforce top to bottom and it will be 06:06.179 --> 06:08.820 top to bottom to see where we can find 06:08.820 --> 06:11.700 and eliminate redundancies . Now common 06:11.700 --> 06:13.700 sense would tell us where we should 06:13.700 --> 06:15.644 start , right ? We start with poor 06:15.644 --> 06:17.644 performers amongst our probationary 06:17.644 --> 06:19.811 employees because that is common sense 06:19.811 --> 06:19.649 and you want the best and brightest . 06:19.910 --> 06:22.077 So when you look at head count , we're 06:22.077 --> 06:24.132 gonna be thoughtful , but we're also 06:24.132 --> 06:26.132 gonna be aggressive up and down the 06:26.132 --> 06:28.243 chain to find the places where we can 06:28.243 --> 06:30.132 ensure the best and brightest are 06:30.132 --> 06:32.132 promoted based on merit . And never 06:32.132 --> 06:34.188 gonna go out , we're gonna put out a 06:34.188 --> 06:36.188 hiring freeze and take more time to 06:36.188 --> 06:38.410 identify on a performance-based 06:38.410 --> 06:40.570 standard who we're going to hire and 06:40.570 --> 06:42.649 reward hardworking employees who are 06:42.649 --> 06:44.980 central to the core war fighting 06:44.980 --> 06:47.202 missions . So we're gonna take a little 06:47.202 --> 06:49.424 bit more time , make sure top to bottom 06:49.424 --> 06:51.424 we're doing a review . Those who we 06:51.424 --> 06:51.109 need , who are the best and brightest 06:51.109 --> 06:53.170 are gonna stay , um , those who are 06:53.170 --> 06:56.109 underperformers won't . We'll continue 06:56.109 --> 06:58.276 to shoot straight with you . We've got 06:58.276 --> 07:00.442 your back . We're motivated to rebuild 07:00.442 --> 07:02.720 the most capable military in the world . 07:02.720 --> 07:04.831 That's why I'm here . That's what the 07:04.831 --> 07:06.776 president has asked me to do . But 07:06.776 --> 07:08.887 doing so does require tough decisions 07:08.887 --> 07:11.149 and we are prepared to make them . But 07:11.149 --> 07:13.260 in the process we want to communicate 07:13.260 --> 07:15.371 with you directly rather than through 07:15.371 --> 07:17.427 the filter of media outlets and it's 07:17.427 --> 07:19.538 not just gonna be me you're gonna see 07:19.538 --> 07:21.593 uh Sean Parnell and Graham Allen and 07:21.593 --> 07:23.649 others here in the department , uh , 07:23.649 --> 07:25.871 aggressively ensuring you got , you get 07:25.871 --> 07:27.705 the , the real info in real time 07:27.705 --> 07:29.760 helping you understand what's really 07:29.760 --> 07:31.982 going on at the department . So our war 07:31.982 --> 07:33.871 fighters and taxpayers deserve of 07:33.871 --> 07:35.927 course no less than that and we'll , 07:35.927 --> 07:38.149 you know , we'll keep reporting back to 07:38.149 --> 07:40.371 you from time to time what we're seeing 07:40.371 --> 07:42.538 and we appreciate your support . We're 07:42.538 --> 07:42.529 not gonna get everything perfect , but 07:42.529 --> 07:44.640 we're gonna do it earnestly and we're 07:44.640 --> 07:46.585 gonna do it on behalf of President 07:46.585 --> 07:48.473 Trump's leadership and making our 07:48.473 --> 07:50.473 military once again the most lethal 07:50.473 --> 07:53.329 badass fighting force on the planet to 07:53.329 --> 07:56.869 keep our country safe . God bless you 07:56.869 --> 07:57.750 and we're gonna keep fighting .