Peter Juul, director of national security at the Progressive Policy Institute, a center-left think tank, said the defense budget should increase given the dangerous state of the world, even though he agreed the Pentagon could be more efficient.
“It’s hard to see where you can do that right at this point, unless you’re [proposing] a massive personnel cuts,” he said. “You might be able to shave the top line a bit, but it’s not going to be this massive savings.”
On Capitol Hill, Juul said there is “more appetite” to “keep things where they are or to push them even further,” calling the hope for defense cuts “wishful thinking by progressives.”
