Overview

• At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Secretary Pete Hegseth said he targeted $5 billion in Defense Department cuts at programs deemed wasteful and cited a 2020 spinal cord injury study involving glass marbles in cats
• Investigations show the study cost $10.45 million—not the “tens of millions” Hegseth suggested—and aimed to restore defecation function after spinal cord injuries
• Senator Dick Durbin pressed Hegseth on slashing two-thirds of defense health research funding and warned that the reductions could undercut vital military medical advances
• Durbin’s office pointed to other frozen or canceled contracts under the administration, including breast and prostate cancer therapies, new protective gear and lightweight aircraft materials
• Hegseth argued the cuts focused on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse to reallocate dollars toward battlefield priorities