Billionaire businessman Stephen Feinberg, President Donald Trump's pick to be the No. 2 civilian at the Pentagon, faced sharp questions from Democrats on Tuesday about impending mass firings at the Defense Department and the possibility of significant cuts to the defense budget.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee for his confirmation hearing to be deputy defense secretary, Feinberg leaned on his background in private equity to argue that the Pentagon needs to change how it does business and that he is the man to accomplish that.
"There is great opportunity to improve our cost structure, our efficiency, our operations to really save a lot of money that could be plowed into mission," he said in his opening statement. "This is in my wheelhouse, hopefully."
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But he also provided few specifics about how he would find significant cost savings, declined several times when asked by Democrats to state clearly that Russia invaded Ukraine, and at times mischaracterized actions the administration has already taken.
For example, when asked about announced plans to fire 5,400 civilians from the Pentagon, he claimed most of those cuts would come from retirements or others choosing to leave when, in reality, the plan is to fire probationary employees who are within the first couple of years of working for the federal government, recently received a promotion or recently transferred departments.
Still, Feinberg received a strong vote of confidence from the Republican chairman of the committee, as well as other Republicans on the panel, suggesting he will have little trouble being confirmed.
"I think we've seen a display of super competence and intelligence and capability today, and I feel very, very good about the role that you will fill," Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said at the end of the hearing.
Feinberg is the co-founder and CEO of Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm that has invested in defense contractors. The extent of his experience in the public sector is a stint on an intelligence advisory board during Trump's first term.
In nominating Feinberg to be deputy secretary, Trump followed a pattern of elevating businessmen and donors to top Pentagon roles over people with deep national security experience. In addition to Feinberg, nominees with more experience in business than defense include newly confirmed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and John Phelan, the nominee to be Navy secretary.
While Feinberg has little experience with the military, his investments show an interest in the defense sector. His role at Cerberus includes being managing member of Cerberus Ventures, a venture capital fund reportedly focused on defense investments, and he also serves as managing member at RapidFlight, a drone maker, according to his 1,800-page financial disclosure forms filed ahead of his confirmation hearing.
Feinberg also listed several investments in CareerBuilder, a company that merged with Military.com parent company Monster in a 2024 joint venture. He reported total income from those investments of $108,596.
If confirmed as deputy defense secretary, Feinberg would step into a role traditionally seen as the day-to-day manager of the Pentagon while the defense secretary focuses more on overarching strategy. Among the deputy's responsibilities are overseeing the budget process and managing the workforce.
The Trump administration has been slashing the federal workforce in part by firing thousands of employees who are in a probationary status, and the Pentagon announced Friday that it too would be cutting about 5,400 civilian employees as soon as this week. The department said the firings are the first step in reducing its civilian workforce by 5% to 8%.
Pressed Tuesday on those announced cuts, Feinberg's answers evoked those of a CEO announcing layoffs with empty platitudes.
"I believe that every person is significant and these cuts are always hard," he said, before going on to incorrectly describe the cuts as mostly retirements or resignations. "In these kinds of reorganizations, there's always turnover and, without some turnover, you can't become an efficient organization."
The answers frustrated Democrats. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., noted that a high percentage of Pentagon civilians are veterans.
"What I hear you saying, sir, is essentially, 'We don't need you, you're expendable, your life of service is meaningless, and the job you're doing now is going to be roadkill,'" Blumenthal said.
Feinberg was also questioned about reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered officials throughout the Pentagon and military to find 8% in budget cuts each year for the next five years.
Feinberg said his understanding is that any cuts will be reallocated elsewhere in the defense budget and that officials would start with "low-hanging fruit," such as streamlining acquisition processes.
But pressed on the fact that such "low-hanging fruit" would not account for nearly enough money to make up the 8% cut envisioned by Hegseth, Feinberg struggled to articulate other specific potential cuts.
"In most cases that I've seen, in businesses that need to do better, we always are able to find more cuts than we would have expected without hurting mission," he said.
Tuesday's hearing also comes on the heels of Hegseth firing the top military lawyers for the Air Force, Army and Navy. Noting those firings, Democrats repeatedly pressed Feinberg on whether he would refuse to follow illegal orders. He definitively said he would refuse to follow an illegal order, but also that he does not believe Trump or Hegseth would break the law.
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