Washington is shrieking at the prospect of a defense budget cut. But would it really be so bad?

‘Let’s keep in mind that the reported deal in terms of defense spending would merely keep the DOD budget at its FY2022 level.’ Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Many say that Washington is more divided than ever, but political quarrels in the nation’s capital and beyond are easily cast aside to unify against even the mere suggestion that perhaps the defense department’s budget might be a bit too high.

That’s what happened when reports emerged late last week that Representative Kevin McCarthy had secured a deal with rogue Republicans to become the next House speaker. In exchange for their votes, the Freedom Caucus – a group of more rightwing House GOP lawmakers – received assurances that the federal budget will freeze at FY2022 levels, which could effectively mean a cut to the Pentagon budget by anywhere from $75bn to $100bn.