Why DoGE should scrap the F-35

The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) has set its sights on the Pentagon. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth told Axios that he will welcome “the keen eye of DoGE” to scrutinize Department of Defense (DoD) spending “very soon.”

Hegseth also said he’s already talked to DoGE head honcho Elon Musk about ways to make the Defense Department run more efficiently. Though in Hegseth’s view “efficiency” does not equate to funding cuts (he wants DoD spending to increase), one quick and easy way to curb waste right out the gate would be to abandon the F-35 fighter jet, fire every senior person involved in its commission and put in place systems to ensure that such horrors never happen again.

The F-35, Andrew Cockburn previously explained at The Spectator, is the “major equipment” purchase du jour for seven European NATO members. “Britain, Italy, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Denmark have ordered 297 F-35s, for a combined total purchase price of $35.4 billion, with many, many, more billions to pay to in maintenance costs (much of them to Lockheed) while the planes are in service,” Cockburn wrote.

The problem with the jet, however, is, well, mostly everything. After twenty years in development, the F-35 “has yet to be certified by the Pentagon’s own testing office, which recently reported that it suffers from no fewer than ‘871 unresolved deficiencies,’ ten of them serious enough to court ‘death’ and other equally undesirable drawbacks.”

According to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), the F-35 “is the Department of Defense’s most ambitious and costly weapon system and its most advanced fighter aircraft. DoD operates and sustains about 630 F-35 aircraft and plans to buy about 2,500 total by the mid-2040s with a projected planned life into the 2080s.

“However,” GAO notes, “DoD’s projected costs for sustaining the F-35 continue to increase while planned use of the aircraft declines.”

One surefire way to decrease costs is to cease using the F-35, labeled a “totally flawed” “monster,” altogether.

-Teresa Mull

On our radar

X-RATED Elon Musk briefly revived his alias “Harry Bōlz” last night, once again changing his X handle to troll audiences and induce television anchors to say the name.

SAVE THE SHARKS President Trump signed an Executive Order to end the “forced use of paper straws.” After signing the order, he said, “I don’t think that plastic is going to affect the shark that much as they munch their way through the ocean.”

WOMEN’S RIGHTS The Department of Education sent a letter to NCAA and NFHS to urge them to restore the records, titles, awards and recognitions of female athletes who lost their achievements while competing against biological men.

Russia releases American detainee

The release of Russian detainee Marc Fogel suggests a possible increase in goodwill between the US and Russia.

President Donald Trump welcomed Fogel to the White House last night after making what he called a “very fair” deal with Russian president Vladimir Putin to secure the release of Fogel and another person scheduled to be freed today.

Fogel, who was sentenced to fourteen years in a Russian penal colony for drug trafficking after possessing 0.6 ounces of US-prescribed medical marijuana in 2022, was granted a pardon by Putin. Fogel said, “Putin was very generous and statesmanlike in granting me a pardon,” but noted that he needed time to “digest” the conditions of his imprisonment before feeling comfortable sharing more details, as “every second, every minute, every day had a challenge.”

Trump reaffirmed his determination to end the Russia-Ukraine war before turning to Fogel and saying that his release “could be a big, important part of getting the war over with Ukraine.”

Trump declined to answer questions regarding details of his conversations with Putin but said, “They all want to see it ended.” His focus appears to be on ending the loss of lives rather than resolving territorial disputes, and it is likely that his negotiation efforts will reflect that approach.

The president posted on Truth Social about his recent call with Putin, though. “Millions of people have died in a War that would not have happened if I were President, but it did happen, so it must end,” he wrote this afternoon. “No more lives should be lost!”

–Derek VanBuskirk

Tulsi Gabbard clears confirmation

After a snowy night in the capital, the Senate convened this morning to confirm former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence. 

The position is one of the most powerful national security roles in the country, overseeing and coordinating the activity of the seventeen agencies that make up the intelligence community. Selecting Gabbard, a critic of said community backed by the likes of Tucker Carlson, is revolutionary. 

Gabbard, once considered the most embattled nominee, was confirmed in a 52-48 vote, with support from all but one Republican — Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. Her confirmation clears the way for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination.

Following Gabbard’s confirmation, senators voted 53-47 along party lines to invoke cloture on Kennedy’s nomination, setting up a final vote for Thursday. Political betting site Kalshi saw Kennedy’s odds of securing fifty-two votes surge to 97 percent after the Gabbard vote.

As for FBI director pick Kash Patel, the only other nominee facing considerable opposition, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote tomorrow on whether to advance his nomination to the full Senate. 

Fourteen out of the twenty-two Cabinet nominees have cleared the process so far. Unlike with Trump 1.0, this time around the cabinet is aligned and congressional Republicans are rallying behind the president. The “Days of Thunder” that have the mainstream media shrieking about a constitutional crisis appear to be shaping up to be more than just days. 

–Juan P. Villasmil