Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued contracting directives meant to increase discipline and efficiency and reduce redundancy and waste. New IT and professional services contract with a value of over $10 million now require secretariat-level approval or a DOGE review. Advisory and assistance services contracts valued at over $1 million need the same—plus assurances that the work cannot be done under existing contracts or by DOD personnel.

The Secretary’s goal of reducing unnecessary, duplicative, or overly expensive contracts or contractors has merit. No one could reasonably argue that there isn’t bloat across the department, or that some contracts have not outlived their usefulness or are simply not delivering the expected value. And the focus on “outcome or performance-

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