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Politico reported https://politi.co/2E5GqQS on Sunday that
Pentagon officials working on Defense Secretary Mark Esper's
cost-cutting review of the U.S. Defense Department had proposed
slashing military healthcare by $2.2 billion.
"A proposal by Pentagon officials to slash Military Healthcare
by $2.2 billion dollars has been firmly and totally rejected by
me. We will do nothing to hurt our great Military professionals
& heroes as long as I am your President," Trump said in a tweet
https://bit.ly/2Czf2dk.
The cut proposed to the military health system over the next
five years came as part of an effort by Esper that started last
year with the goal of eliminating inefficiencies within the
Pentagon's coffers, Politico reported.
Politico also said, however, that senior defense officials had
argued that such cuts would have hurt the healthcare of millions
of military personnel and their families amid the ongoing
coronavirus outbreak.
About 9.5 million active-duty personnel, military retirees and
their dependents rely on the military health system. The
military's government-run healthcare network operates hundreds
of facilities around the world.
Reuters reported last week that Trump had privately discussed
with advisers the possibility of replacing Esper after the
November election following a growing number of differences
between them.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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