WASHINGTON -- Pentagon leaders plan to roll out their recommended cuts to military spending alongside their budget request for fiscal 2026, the Defense Department indicated in a newly released letter to Congress.

The letter, addressed to House Armed Services Chair Mike D. Rogers, R- Ala., and dated March 5, states that Congress will be informed of the results of the so-called budget relook -- which called for an internal realignment of 8% of the Defense Department's budget -- as the president's spending request is made public in the coming weeks.

Obtained by CQ Roll Call on Wednesday, the letter came after Rogers and ranking member Adam Smith, D- Wash., last month asked the military service chiefs to identify infrastructure, programs and processes "that are no longer a priority" for their branch "and could be divested, right sized, or made more efficient."

"We are committed to eliminating waste, reforming our acquisition processes, and ensuring each dollar within the defense budget is spent wisely," Rogers and Smith wrote in their Feb. 14 missives. "We have a unique opportunity at this time to make quantifiable progress toward these goals."

But rather than each service chief responding with a list of their low-priority initiatives, Dane Hughes, the acting assistant secretary of Defense for legislative affairs, opted to weigh in "on behalf of the Department," his letter said.

Hughes noted that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously tasked senior department leaders, combatant commanders and others to review the fiscal 2026 budget estimates, with an intent "to reallocate resources away from low-impact areas, such as DEI and climate change programs, to capabilities focused on lethality and readiness."

The line is a reference to Hegseth's Feb. 18 memo seeking a list of recommended reductions to the budgets for each of the next five fiscal years. The request is tied to the department's development of a list of "offsets" that Robert G. Salesses, who is performing the duties of the Pentagon's deputy secretary, said in a mid-February statement "are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration's FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion."

It's not clear yet which capabilities or accounts could be caught up in the DoD review or the Department of Government Efficiency's assessment of the Pentagon, which is underway as the entity spearheaded by Elon Musk looks for fraud and waste in federal departments and agencies. Hegseth's memo exempted 17 categories of programs from consideration, including operations at the U.S. southern border, Virginia-class^[1] attack submarines, missile defense, munitions, one-way attack drones and more.

Rogers' and Smith's letters were an early sign that finding efficiencies within the military is shaping up to be a clear priority for them as they begin assembling the fiscal 2026 defense policy bill.

The two previously touted the value of spending dollars "smarter" and overhauling the way capabilities are purchased and fielded.

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SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge on Thursday ordered President Donald Trump's administration to reinstate thousands — if not tens of thousands — of probationary workers let go in mass firings^[1] across multiple agencies last month, saying that the terminations were directed by a personnel office that had no authority to do so.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco ordered the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, the Interior and the Treasury to immediately offer reinstatement to employees terminated on or about Feb. 13 and 14 using guidance from the Office of Personnel Management and its acting director, Charles Ezell.

Alsup directed the agencies to report back within seven days with a list of probationary employees and an explanation of how the departments complied with his order as to each person.

The temporary restraining order came in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions and organizations as the Republican administration moves to dramatically downsize the federal workforce^[2].

The White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Alsup expressed frustration with what he called the government's attempt to sidestep laws and regulations governing a reduction in its workforce — which it is allowed to do — by firing probationary workers who lack protections. He was appalled that employees were fired for poor performance despite receiving glowing evaluations just months earlier.

“It is sad, a sad day, when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that’s a lie," he said. “That should not have been done in our country.”

Lawyers for the government maintain the mass firings were lawful because individual agencies reviewed and determined whether employees on probation were fit for continued employment.

But Alsup has found that difficult to believe. He planned to hold an evidentiary hearing Thursday, but Ezell, the OPM acting director, did not appear to testify in court or even sit for a deposition. The judge encouraged the government to appeal.

There are an estimated 200,000 probationary workers across federal agencies. They include entry level employees but also workers who recently received a promotion.

About 15,000 are employed in California, providing services ranging from fire prevention to veterans’ care, according to the lawsuit filed by the coalition of labor unions and nonprofit organizations.

The plaintiffs said in their complaint that numerous agencies informed workers that the personnel office had ordered the terminations, with an order to use a template email informing workers their firing was for performance reasons.

BEDFORD, Mass. -- Jack Teixeira^[1], the Massachusetts Air National Guard^[2] member who caused an international uproar when he leaked highly classified documents about the war in Ukraine, pleaded guilty to military charges of obstructing justice at his court-martial Thursday and called himself a "proud patriot."

In a 10-minute address, Teixeira said he was "exposing and correcting the lies that were perpetrated by President Biden and force-fed to the American people" about the war in Ukraine.

"I believe the Department of Justice was politicized against President Trump and myself," added Teixeira, who said he acted alone. He called on Trump and members of his administration to reverse his convictions.

"If I saved one American, Russian or Ukrainian life in this money-grabbing war, my punishment was worth it," he said.

The plea agreement calls for a dishonorable discharge^[3] and no jail time. The judge approved the plea agreement, but had not addressed his sentencing yet, which was expected to occur later Thursday afternoon.

Teixeira was already sentenced last year to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court^[4] to six counts of willful retention and transmission of national defense information under the Espionage Act, following his arrest in the most consequential national security breach in years.

Military prosecutors said before the court-martial at Hanscom Air Force Base^[5] in Massachusetts that charges of disobeying orders and obstructing justice were appropriate given that obeying orders is the "absolute core" of the military.

Teixeira's lawyer, Lt. Col. Bradley Poronsky, argued Monday that the obstructing justice charge should either be dismissed or go unpunished, saying it amounts to double jeopardy because it already factored into Teixeira's November sentencing.

A plea agreement was accepted by both sides that drops the disobeying orders charge. Teixeira pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge, admitting that he used a hammer to destroy a cellphone, a computer hard drive and an iPad after seeing some news reports of the leaked documents. He also admitted to telling his friend to destroy messages exchanged on a communication app.

"I was scared about a potential law enforcement investigation into me and my friends," he said in court Thursday.

As the sentencing phase began, Teixeira's parents said he took an early interest in the military as a child. His father, also named Jack Teixeira, described him as "a good kid, energetic, intelligent, and quirky."

When his son decided to join the military, "I was excited about it," the elder Teixeira said. "It was a good option for Jack." He said it gave him direction and the chance to see the world.

"He made a mistake," his mother, Dawn Dufault, said. "Everyone makes mistakes. He's my son, I love him. He deserves a second chance."

The leaks exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments of Russia's war in Ukraine, including information about troop movements in Ukraine, and the provision of supplies and equipment to Ukrainian troops. The leaked documents also revealed assessments of the defense capabilities of Taiwan and internal arguments in Britain, Egypt, Israel, South Korea and Japan. Teixeira also admitted to posting information about a U.S. adversary's plans to harm U.S. forces serving overseas.

Teixeira worked as an information technology specialist responsible for military communications networks. His lawyers described Teixeira as an autistic, isolated individual who spent most of his time online, especially with his Discord community^[6], and never meant to harm the United States.