When the “department of government efficiency” was raging unchecked through the federal government in February 2025, the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ordered his subordinates to find cuts of 8% a year for the next five years, theoretically trimming a total of $340bn from the Pentagon budget.
The disclosure briefly sent Palantir and defense stocks tanking – though soon the plan evaporated, as if it never existed.
