Pentagon clips civilian employees’ credit cards in line with DOGE cuts
The Defense Department has put strict measures in place to curb spending by civilian employees, as stated in new memos. The department has effectively banned civilian employees from traveling or making taxpayer-funded purchases, with the spending limit on government-issued travel and purchase cards reduced to just $1.
According to the instructions posted on the Defense Department’s website, civilian employees must cancel all future non-exempted official travel reservations and return to their permanent duty stations as soon as possible. However, travel that directly supports military operations or a permanent change in station is exempted from these restrictions.
In addition to the travel restrictions, a parallel memo has frozen civilian credit cards used for purchasing office supplies and items priced up to $10,000. These measures were implemented following an executive order from President Donald Trump, activating the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-saving efforts to hold government employees accountable to the public.
The executive order stipulated that agencies must submit reports justifying travel needs for government employees. It also mandated that agency credit cards be frozen for 30 days, except for funds allocated for disaster relief, natural disaster response, or other critical services as determined by the Agency Head.
These restrictions come as the Pentagon is in the process of firing 5,400 civilian employees still in their probationary period and instituting a hiring freeze to reduce 5-8% of the civilian workforce, which currently stands at 764,000 members. The Pentagon, in collaboration with the Department of Government Efficiency, has identified $80 million in wasteful spending, primarily related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and climate initiatives.
While $80 million is a small fraction of the Pentagon’s $840 billion budget, the efforts to streamline spending have just begun. The Pentagon has initiated a review of its contracting practices and has directed agencies to establish a central system for contracts, grants, and other expenditures.
John Tenaglia, the Pentagon’s principal director of defense pricing, contracting, and acquisition policy, stated in a memo that they are conducting a review to identify efficiencies and save taxpayer money while supporting the nation’s defense. Components have been directed to refrain from issuing new contracting officer warrant appointments to DoD civilian staff members until the review period ends on March 28, 2025.
