The Defense Department’s 8 Percent Challenge: What to Cut and Where to Invest

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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently directed US military services to identify budget cuts totaling 8 percent to fund higher-priority initiatives. To explore the range of choices and their implications, the American Enterprise Institute, in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, asked defense budget experts to follow the secretary’s guidance and rebalance the defense budget using AEI’s Defense Futures Simulator.

Join us for a panel discussion on Friday, March 21 from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM ET, where we will share the results of this exercise and hear insights directly from the experts.

A video livestream of the event will be available on AEI’s website here starting at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 21.

Agenda

2:30 p.m.
Introduction:
Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

2:35 p.m.
Panel Discussion

Panelists:
Melissa Dalton, Nonresident Senior Adviser, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Jennifer Kavanagh, Director of Military Analysis, Defense Priorities
Elaine McCusker, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Michael O’Hanlon, Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy, Brookings Institution

Moderators:
Seamus P. Daniels, Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies
Todd Harrison, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

3:15 p.m.
Q&A:
Submit questions to Ben.Lefkowitz@aei.org.

3:30 p.m.
Adjournment