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Articles by Gabe Murphy
No More Handouts for Fat Cat Pentagon Contractors
Pentagon contractors play a critical role in providing the tools necessary for our national security. That doesn’t mean taxpayers should foot the bill to ramp up manufacturing while fat cat executives stuff their pockets. As Congress works to finalize the Pentagon’s annual policy bill, lawmakers have a golden opportunity to score a win for taxpayers.
Dems Launch Overdue Salvo Against $1.5 Trillion Pentagon Budget
The debates in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees this month over this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon’s annual authorization bill, were anything but business as usual. Perhaps the biggest shift in tone and substance was an unprecedented, bicameral challenge to the Pentagon’s ever-growing budget. The rest of Congress should take note. Early in the House committee’s marathon 14-hour markup of the bill, Rep.
Dems use war to launch fiery salvo against Pentagon spending
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Dems use war to launch fiery salvo against Pentagon spending
The debates in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees this month over this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Pentagon’s annual authorization bill, were anything but business as usual. Perhaps the biggest shift in tone and substance was an unprecedented, bicameral challenge to the Pentagon’s ever-growing budget. The rest of Congress should take note. Early in the House committee’s marathon 14-hour markup of the bill, Rep.
Pentagon plans for reconciliation slush fund make a perfect case against another round
Seal of the Pentagon on display at the Pentagon visitor center. (Photo by Trevor Raney Digital Media Division) Late last month, leaks finally revealed the Pentagon’s spending plan for around $152 billion set aside for the agency in the budget reconciliation bill enacted last summer. The big news: The Pentagon plans to spend the entire amount in fiscal 2026.
‘A House of Dynamite’ hits its mark, but can missile defense? Original
“A House of Dynamite,” now streaming on Netflix, is a must see for anyone who appreciates a good nuclear thriller. But it’s also a must see for a nation that’s currently pursuing a missile defense shield that experts say could cost trillions of dollars and still fail to protect the United States from a nuclear attack. With the U.S. having already sunk over $400 billion into ballistic missile defenses that haven’t worked, history is poised to repeat itself.
New nuke missile's problem isn't mobility, it's relevance
Last week, analysts from three think tanks penned a joint op-ed for Breaking Defense to make the case for mobilizing the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program, a pivot from one exceedingly costly approach to nuclear modernization to another. After Sentinel faced a 37 percent cost overrun in early 2024, the Pentagon was forced to inform Congress of the cost spike, assess the root causes, and either cancel the program or certify it to move forward under a restructured approach.
‘Fund first, ask questions later’ is a bad way to go
Insights & Reports Among the innovations of the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act is handing huge sums to the Pentagon without asking for justification in advance or offering clear direction for their expenditure. Some may tout this flexible approach as a boon to national security, but it is far more likely to produce the opposite: wasteful, deficit-fueled spending on abortive programs that ultimately hurt the military more than they help it.
Service members should have the tools to repair their equipment
Steven Cope, left, and Joe Shanda, both members of the Fleet Readiness Center East F-35 Rapid Response Team, perform maintenance on an F-35C aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. When a piece of military equipment needs repair, the military is sometimes forced to wait weeks or even months to get a contractor to come fix it.
Op-Ed: Time for a new round of base closures
Despite all the political energy the Trump administration has galvanized in pursuit of savings and efficiency in federal spending, policymakers have been overlooking a golden opportunity to save taxpayers billions of dollars per year, protect military communities, and strengthen national security. It’s called Base Realignment and Closure.
DoD Clinging To Empty Properties for Money Is ‘Out of Hand’
DoD Clinging To Empty Properties for Money Is ‘Out of Hand’ Instead of saving taxpayers’ billions, the military has a perverse incentive to underreport and obfuscate about what it currently owns Read Full Article »
The art of the hollow promise to cut Pentagon waste
President Trump issued an Apr. 9 executive order titled “Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurning Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base.” This order is the latest in a series of hollow promises from the administration to cut Pentagon waste, and the latest push to deregulate Pentagon acquisition in ways that will lead to dramatically more waste. The executive order requires the Pentagon to complete a comprehensive review within 90 days of all Major Defense Acquisition Programs.
Opinion - The art of the hollow promise to cut Pentagon waste
President Trump issued an Apr. 9 executive order titled “Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurning Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base.” This order is the latest in a series of hollow promises from the administration to cut Pentagon waste, and the latest push to deregulate Pentagon acquisition in ways that will lead to dramatically more waste. The executive order requires the Pentagon to complete a comprehensive review within 90 days of all Major Defense Acquisition Programs.
Another View: Budget efficiencies should start with the Pentagon
Well before he took office, President Donald Trump promised to dramatically reduce the federal budget, and delegated the task of finding potential cuts to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk originally claimed he could find $2 trillion in cuts — nearly one-third of the entire federal budget — and then lowered his sights to “only” $1 trillion. Both figures are wildly unrealistic, unless the administration changes its tune and addresses Social Security and Medicare solvency.
Hartung and Murphy: Start cuts at the Pentagon
The following is presented as part of The Columbian’s Opinion content, which offers a point of view in order to provoke thought and debate of civic issues. Opinions represent the viewpoint of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus opinion of The Columbian’s editorial board, which operates independently of the news department.
Trump Is Unleashing DOGE on the Pentagon Budget: Here’s Where Musk Should Look
President Trump is about to unleash DOGE on the only government agency that has never passed an audit: the Pentagon. With an annual budget rapidly approaching a trillion dollars per year, no other pot of discretionary spending comes close. Moreover, the Pentagon recently failed its 7th consecutive audit, underscoring an ongoing breakdown in financial accountability that would never be tolerated at a publicly traded company.
Budget efficiencies should start with the Pentagon
Well before he took office, President Donald Trump promised to dramatically reduce the federal budget, and delegated the task of finding potential cuts to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk originally claimed he could find $2 trillion in cuts — nearly one-third of the entire federal budget — and then lowered his sights to “only” $1 trillion. Both figures are wildly unrealistic, unless the administration changes its tune and addresses Social Security and Medicare solvency.
Opinion - The Pentagon needs a budget cut, not a spending spree
As Congress belatedly works to finalize the budget for fiscal 2025, some lawmakers are pushing to dramatically increase Pentagon spending, claiming that we need a “generational investment” to meet the national security challenges we face. The truth is, we don’t. Rather, we need to realign our national security strategies for the challenges we face, and then fund the programs those strategies require while cutting the programs they don’t.
Budget efficiencies should start with the Pentagon
Well before he took office, President Donald Trump promised to dramatically reduce the federal budget, and delegated the task of finding potential cuts to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk originally claimed he could find $2 trillion in cuts - nearly one-third of the entire federal budget - and then lowered his sights to "only" $1 trillion. Both figures are wildly unrealistic, unless the administration changes its tune and addresses Social Security and Medicare solvency.
Commentary: Budget efficiencies should start with the Pentagon
Well before he took office, President Donald Trump promised to dramatically reduce the federal budget, and delegated the task of finding potential cuts to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk originally claimed he could find $2 trillion in cuts - nearly one-third of the entire federal budget - and then lowered his sights to "only" $1 trillion. Both figures are wildly unrealistic, unless the administration changes its tune and addresses Social Security and Medicare solvency.
Keys to Developing a More Efficient, Effective Defense at Lower Cost
This brief was co-published by the Stimson Center and Taxpayers for Common Sense. The Trump administration’s stated commitment to reducing waste and inefficiency across the federal government offers important opportunities for policymakers to address excessive Pentagon spending. Not only will smart, targeted Pentagon budget cuts save tens of billions of dollars, but they will also strengthen national security.
Cornell Students Shut Down Career Fair Featuring Weapons Manufacturers
‘Emergency’ funding in the DOD spending bill is a dangerous gimmick. By Gabe Murphy, Responsible Statecraft As Congress zeroes in on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded beyond the end of the 2024 fiscal year on September 30, it’s effectively punting on a host of questions lawmakers would rather not weigh in on ahead of the November 5 election.
Congress is crying wolf again on the Pentagon budget
As Congress zeroes in on a continuing resolution to keep the government funded beyond the end of the 2024 fiscal year on September 30, it’s effectively punting on a host of questions lawmakers would rather not weigh in on ahead of the November 5 election. Chief among them is whether or not to advance the Senate Appropriations Committee’s plan to include some $34.5 billion in emergency spending in the final budget, including $21 billion for the Pentagon and $13.5 billion for domestic programs.
Congress should pump the brakes on the sixth-generation fighter
An F-35C Lightning II assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 147 lands on Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington on Dec. 8, 2023. Despite plans to operate the F-35 through 2088, the Air Force and Navy are now working to develop sixth-generation fighters along with Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs), autonomous drones that can tether to fighters or perform missions independently, all of which they plan to field in the 2030s.
Senators want to infect other agencies with 'unfunded' wish lists
Last week, Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) introduced legislation, along with an identical amendment to the Pentagon policy bill, to require the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to submit so-called “unfunded priority lists” (UPLs) to Congress.
Pentagon budgeting shouldn’t look like this
The Pentagon budget request, like all budgets, reflects the priorities of those who write it. But in recent years, these priorities have increasingly been overruled in favor of explicitly lower-priority investments. Since fiscal 2017, Congress has required the military services and combatant commands to submit lists of low-priority projects that the Pentagon couldn’t fit into its budget request, which is up to $850 billion this year.
Congress’ Pentagon budget increase is in need of transparency Original
Buried deep in the funding tables of the recently passed fiscal 2024 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, lawmakers added over 1,000 separate program increases to the Pentagon’s procurement and research accounts. With few exceptions, there is no public record of which lawmaker proposed which increases, or why, or at what long-term cost to taxpayers.
Blown cost projection for new nuclear missile underscores case against building it
An illustration of the LGM-35A Sentinel, the Air Force’s newest weapon system. (U.S. Air Force illustration) Like a bolt from the blue, the Pentagon’s program for building a new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile, known as the LGM-35A Sentinel, has blown past its most recent baseline cost projection to the point of triggering an automatic review of the program. Lt. Gen.
Congress Stuffs the Stockings of Pentagon Contractors
It’s that time of year, and despite all the budgetary drama unfolding on Capitol Hill, lawmakers have already finished most of their holiday shopping for their favorite children: Pentagon contractors. Through cryptic “program increases” to the defense budget appropriations for fiscal year 2024, most with no listed author and little to no justification, Congress has added more than $25 billion to the Pentagon’s procurement and research accounts for fiscal year 2024.
Amidst Budget Drama, Congress Still Finds Pentagon Funding
Based on the continuing resolution that Congress passed in November, Congress has until February 2 to either pass another stopgap measure, or pass a final Pentagon spending bill, at which point we should be able to see which program increases make the cut. If history is any indication, almost all of them will be in the final bill.
Congress stuffs $25 billion into Pentagon contractor stockings
It’s that time of year, and despite all the budgetary drama unfolding on Capitol Hill, lawmakers have already finished most of their holiday shopping for their favorite children: Pentagon contractors. Through cryptic “program increases” to the defense budget appropriations for fiscal year 2024, most with no listed author and little to no justification, Congress has added more than $25 billion to the Pentagon’s procurement and research accounts for fiscal year 2024.
The rocky road to climate accountability at the Pentagon Original
In the ever-shifting landscape of Washington politics, a noteworthy narrative is unfolding—one that hinges on the interplay between climate change, national security, and fiscal responsibility. At the heart of this story is the Pentagon and its efforts to integrate climate risk management into its strategic framework.
Parochial politics must not imperil a fiscally responsible Marine Corps transformation
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Eric M. Smith, the 36th Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, gives remarks during the I Marine Expeditionary Force succession of command ceremony on Camp Pendleton, Calif., Aug. 18, 2023. (Shaina Jupiter/U.S. Marine Corps) Amid a narrowly averted government shutdown, the ousting of the House speaker and the eruption of war in Israel and Gaza, one could be forgiven for overlooking the long-delayed confirmation of Gen.
Spotlight on Andrew McGuire
Indeed, early in the pandemic the McGuire, Pancera and Stamatatos labs collectively identified a highly effective antibody from a person infected with SARS-CoV-2. Later, the same cross-disciplinary team identified a single antibody that neutralizes the alpha, delta, gamma and omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2, the related coronavirus behind the 2003 SARS outbreak, and even a SARS-like coronavirus from bats.
Opinion | Devastating US Sanctions Policies Need Accountability
Opinion | Devastating US Sanctions Policies Need Accountability | Daniel Jasper
Cyber Threats Call for Cyber Diplomacy
In the wake of recent and ongoing revelations about the massive SolarWinds hack, which granted the hackers access to a long list of U.S. government and partner systems and raises serious national security concerns, a wide range of politicians and cyber analysts have been quick to call for increased investments in U.S. cyber capabilities and operations to meet the threats of an increasingly cyber-capable world.
Cyber Threats Call for Cyber Diplomacy
In the wake of recent and ongoing revelations about the massive SolarWinds hack, which granted the hackers access to a long list of U.S. government and partner systems and raises serious national security concerns, a wide range of politicians and cyber analysts have been quick to call for increased investments in U.S. cyber capabilities and operations to meet the threats of an increasingly cyber-capable world.
Saudi Crown Prince's Hit Squads Reflect His Foreign Policy-And Ours
The Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, often referred to as MbS, is facing the court of international public opinion once again. This time, he stands accused of sending a hit squad to Canada to assassinate former Saudi intelligence official Dr. Saad Aljabri—not to be confused with the hit squad he sent to Turkey to murder Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Opinion: What programs a 10% cut in military spending could buy Original
Breaking News San Jose Unified School District students to start school year at home For millions of Californians, times are tough, and the future looks tougher still. So far, California has seen over 325,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 7,000 deaths. Gabe Murphy In the economic fallout, over 6 million of us have applied for unemployment insurance since the start of the pandemic.
Opinion: Iran events show how willing Trump is to bring us to war
Breaking News Rain arrives in Bay Area, more potent system to follow Following the assassination of Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani, a protracted war with Iran seemed more likely than not. But Iran’s calculated response—firing a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases that host U.S. troops, but causing no human casualties—may have contained the escalation for the time being.
Opinion: Iran events show how willing Trump is to bring us to war
Breaking News Rain arrives in Bay Area, more potent system to follow Following the assassination of Iran’s top general Qassem Soleimani, a protracted war with Iran seemed more likely than not. But Iran’s calculated response—firing a volley of missiles at Iraqi bases that host U.S. troops, but causing no human casualties—may have contained the escalation for the time being.
Trump’s “Maximum Pressure” Policy in Iran Prevents Real Diplomacy
At the recent United Nations General Assembly meeting, the United States, Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia seemingly spoke with one voice. Denouncing the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, President Trump asserted that “all nations have a duty to act.
President Moon's Unenviable Task
When President Moon Jae-in of South Korea meets with President Donald Trump at the White House this week, he may find himself fighting the urge to pour cold water all over Trump, because that’s what Trump did to the Korea peace process when he met with Kim Jong Un in Hanoi. Moon has staked his presidency on advancing permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, and Trump has staked his bloated ego on the interconnected goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Civilian Deaths in Yemen Increased by 164 Percent. Will Congress Act?
Weddings. Funerals. A school bus full of children. The Saudi-led coalition continues to bomb civilians in Yemen’s civil war. In fact, according to a recent report from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, the coalition’s offensive against the port city of Hodeida is largely responsible for a 164 percent increase in civilian deaths in Yemen since June. Thankfully, a group of 24 fed-up House representatives led by Reps.
U.S. War Footing in Korea Remains Major Roadblock to Peace
North Korea’s cancellation of talks planned between North and South Korea is cause for concern, as is its suggestion that the U.S.-North Korea summit scheduled for June 12 could meet the same fate. But the greater causes for concern are the U.S.-South Korea war drills and a U.S. negotiating posture that assumes immediate and unconditional denuclearization of North Korea, both of which North Korea has cited as reasons it might cancel the Trump-Kim summit.
North Korea diplomacy needs defending, not snarky tweets
As the U.S., the Korean Peninsula, and the world stare down the barrel of what would be a devastating war between the U.S. and North Korea, President Trump’s reluctant, kinda sorta endorsement via Twitter of proposed talks between North and South Korea triggered a collective sigh of cautious relief. Of course, the president’s claiming credit for the diplomatic opening was absurd given his frequent statements disparaging the diplomatic path and habitual squandering of opportunities to walk it.
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