defense

May 6 (UPI) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins on Tuesday accused Democrats of fearmongering while they oppose proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs workforce.

Reports have suggested Collins wants to eliminate more than 80,000 VA jobs, but he told the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs that number is a goal and not a hard target.

Collins told the committee he wants to reduce the VA’s workforce by 15%, which would mean firing more than 80,000 workers, but that goal has not become a reality.

Democrats have suggested such a workforce reduction would harm services for veterans, but Collins said no one is looking to fire doctors or nurses who work for the VA, the New York Times reported.

The VA so far has fired 2,400 workers and intends to end 585 contracts, NBC News reported.

Collins told committee members he would like to eliminate another 70,500 non-essential positions within the department to make it more efficient.

“The department’s history shows that adding more employees to the systems doesn’t automatically equal better results,” he said.

The agency would keep its health care workers but fire interior designers and staff whose jobs involve administering diversity, equity and inclusion policies that President Donald Trump eliminated via an executive order.

The quality of VA-provided health care and benefits would not harm veterans and other beneficiaries, Collins told the committee.

He said reducing the size of the VA’s workforce would increase the agency’s productivity and get rid of waste.

For example, removing DEI initiatives would save the VA an estimated $14 million, Collins said.

The VA has about 470,000 employees who provide services for 9.1 million people.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., accused the VA of “totally lacking” accountability and said the proposed workforce reduction could be a disaster for the people it serves.

“It is a disaster that is on the horizon, approaching us as surely as a thunderstorm in the nation’s capital,” Blumenthal said.

May 6 (UPI) — The Trump administration does not have to await the outcome of a federal appellate court challenge to enforce its ban on transgender military members, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

“The preliminary injunction … is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought,” the one-page ruling says.

“Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically,” the unattributed ruling says.

The ruling notes Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson would deny the application.

Seven transgender military members filed a federal lawsuit to block the enforcement of President Donald Trump‘s executive order banning transgender service members.

Navy Commander Emily Shilling is the lead plaintiff in the federal case challenging the ban’s legality.

“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a devastating blow to transgender service members who have demonstrated their capabilities and commitment to our nation’s defense,” officials with the Lambda Legal and Human Rights Campaign Foundation said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The joint statement says the ban “has nothing to do with military readiness and everything to do with prejudice.”

U.S. District Court for Western Washington State Judge Benjamin Settle on March 27 ordered a temporary nationwide injunction stopping the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on transgender members in the U.S. military.

Solicitor General John Sauer on April 24 filed an emergency application asking the Supreme Court to overrule Settle and end the injunction.

Former President George W. Bush appointed Settle to the federal district court.

Trump during his first term banned transgender members in the U.S. military, which eventually was ended after President Joe Biden entered office in 2021.

The latest ban applies to “service members who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with, gender dysphoria” and requires their removal from military service, CNN reported.

A senior defense official previously told CNN the military has 4,240 active-duty, reserve and National Guard members who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Gender dysphoria is defined as “psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and gender identity,” according to Psychiatry.org.

The Department of Defense discharged active duty personnel and banned transgender individuals from enlisting shortly after Trump banned their inclusion in the military, NPR reported.

Pentagon chief says cuts will maximise ‘strategic’ and ‘operational readiness’.

United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced steep cuts in the number of top-ranked officers in his latest move to streamline the world’s most powerful military.

In a memo on Monday, Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star generals and admirals – currently the highest-ranked personnel in the US military – as well as a 10 percent reduction in the number of general and flag officers.

Hegseth’s memo also ordered a 20 percent cut in the number of general officers in the National Guard.

The US military had 38 four-star generals or admirals as of March 31, 2025, according to US Department of Defense data.

In a video explaining the “Less Generals More GIs Policy”, Hegseth said the US military currently has one general for every 1,400 troops, compared with one for every 6,000 during World War II.

“More generals and admirals does not equal more success,” Hegseth said in the video posted on X.

“Now this is not a slash-and-burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers. Nothing could be further from the truth. This has been a deliberated process, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with one goal: maximising strategic readiness and operational readiness by making prudent reductions in the general and flag officer ranks.”

Hegseth did not specify which positions would be cut.

The nearly 40 active four-star generals in the US military include the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of staff of the army, the chief of naval operations, and the chief of staff of the Air Force, as well as the heads of US Africa Command, US European Command and US Forces Korea.

The cuts come as part of a broader drive by President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce the size of the federal government and purge perceived political enemies.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump or his underlings have fired several top military leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q Brown and Navy chief Admiral Lisa Franchetti.

May 5 (UPI) — Stratolaunch successfully tested for the second time a fully recoverable uncrewed hypersonic vehicle for the Department of Defense in March, the private contractor and federal agency said Monday.

Stratolaunch, based in the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada, first tested one in December.

Reusable hypersonic flights are the first since the manned X-15 program was scrapped in 1968.

The Stratolaunch Talon-A hypersonic vehicle launched from the twin-fuselage Roc carrier aircraft, flew over the Pacific Ocean and achieved speeds greater than Mach 5 before landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base, DOD said in a news release.

Mach 5 refers to five times the speed of sound, or 3,806 to 7,680 mph.

Roc, named after the griffin-like creature, can carry as much as 500,000 pounds of payload, or more than 33 large elephants. It has a wingspan that stretches 385 feet, larger than any other plane.

The new program is called Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed, or MACH-TB.

“Demonstrating the reuse of fully recoverable hypersonic test vehicles is an important milestone for MACH-TB,” George Rumford, director of the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center, said. “Lessons learned from this test campaign will help us reduce vehicle turnaround time from months down to weeks.”

It will also help lower costs.

“With the data collected from this second flight, we are able to apply lessons learned to enhance the strength and performance of the Talon-A vehicles,” Stratolaunch CEO Zachary Krevor said. “We’ve now demonstrated hypersonic speed, added the complexity of a full runway landing with prompt payload recovery, and proven reusability. Both flights were great achievements for our country, our company, and our partners.”

MACH-TB provides the Defense Department, other federal agencies, industry and academia “the capability to affordably and rapidly conduct hypersonic experiments and test hypersonic system components,” the release said.

Stratolaunch has a contract to launch five MACH-TB flights, Defense News reported.

Stratolaunch’s mission, according to its website, is to “advance high-speed technology through innovative design, manufacturing, and operation of world-class aerospace vehicles.”

The company was founded in 2011.

“I am in awe of what this team has achieved,” Krevor said. “We’ve executed four incredible Talon-A flights, completed twenty-four Roc flights to date, flew two new supersonic and hypersonic airplanes in a single year, and we are firmly on the path to making hypersonic flight test services a reality.”

Stratolaunch has been making modifications to one of its launch platforms, a modified Boeing 747 jetliner called the Spirit of Mojave.

Before the United States started the program, China and Russia made progress developing and fielding hypersonic systems of their own.

In January, North Korea launched a hypersonic glide at first peak of 61 miles and a second peak of 26 miles, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.

The range was estimated at 683 miles.

“The hypersonic missile system will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region that can affect the security of our state,” said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who oversaw the launch via a monitoring system.

May 4 (UPI) — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that she had rejected an offer from U.S. President Donald Trump to send American troops to help fight drug cartels.

Sheinbaum, speaking on Saturday from the opening of the new Benito Juárez García University for Well-being in the Texcoco Lake Ecological Park, addressed a Friday report from the Wall Street Journal that said Trump had offered up troops during a lengthy phone call earlier this year.

“I want to say it’s true; that, in some of the calls, but not in the way they mention it, he said: ‘How can we help you fight drug trafficking? I propose that the United States military come in to help’,” Sheinbaum said in her speech as published by her office.

“And you know what I told him? ‘No, President Trump, territory is inviolable, sovereignty is inviolable, sovereignty is not for sale; sovereignty is loved and defended.'”

The Mexican presidency said in its news release that Sheinbaum told Trump that information could be shared, and the two countries could collaborate, but only with the authority each nation has within their own borders.

“And I told him one more thing. If you want to help us, President Trump, help us stop weapons from entering Mexico from the United States’,” Sheinbaum recounted.

Anna Kelly, the deputy press secretary at the White House, provided a written statement to Fox News on Saturday that highlighted the collaboration between the two countries on combating drug trafficking.

“President Trump has worked with President Sheinbaum to advance border security collaboration with Mexico to the highest levels ever,” Kelly wrote.

“This robust cooperation and information sharing is delivering tangible results, including the removal of numerous cartel leaders to the U.S. to face justice and creating the most secure border in history.”

Since returning to office, Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a key tenet of his agenda including designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations — a move that would give U.S. prosecutors broader authority and potentially open the door to military action. Trump first floated the designation during his initial presidency.

Meanwhile, the CIA is deploying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to search for fentanyl labs run by drug cartels.

Despite resistance from some lawmakers and concerns from foreign policy experts about sovereignty and unintended consequences, the Trump administration has insisted such tactics — and his tariffs — are necessary to curb the flow of fentanyl and stem migration at the southern border.

May 4 (UPI) — An Israel-based Patriot air defense system is being moved to Ukraine to help in its ongoing battle against a three-year long Russian invasion, officials announced Sunday.

The system will be sent after it is refurbished, and Western allies have said Germany and Greece could also send an additional one.

The deployment of the Patriot system is a continuation of the previous administration’s commitment to send more defense weapons to Kyiv. In September, Former President Joe Biden arranged a deal with Israel to send the missile defense system to Ukraine, before Donald Trump was re-elected.

Trump administration officials said “it continues to provide equipment to Ukraine from previously authorized” agreements, The New York Times reported.

The Trump administration has said in recent weeks that it wants an end to the war in Ukraine but the chances of a quick resolution have taken a hit in recent weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a drone attack on key Ukrainian infrastructure on the eve of a proposed ceasefire.

Kyiv media reported that four people have been killed and at least 30 more injured in a barrage of drone attacks in recent days, including 11 children.

“Air defenses shot down 69 drones, while 80 vanished from radars — likely used as decoys to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses,” the Kyiv Independent reported. “The assault was countered with electronic warfare units, aviation, anti-aircraft missile systems, and mobile fire groups.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said “a real ceasefire is necessary … to bring the war to an end.”

Russia is calling for a ceasefire on May 9, the Independent reported.

May 4 (UPI) — Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel’s main travel hub, was hit Sunday with a Houthi missile that bypassed Israeli and American defense systems.

The Houthis, a Yemeni political faction formally known as Ansar Allah, said in a statement that its armed wing had carried out a military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in the “occupied Jaffa region” with a hypersonic ballistic missile.

Palestinians and their supporters consider the land Ben Gurion Airport sits on to be Palestinian land from the historic district of Jaffa, which was a major Palestinian city before the creation of Israel.

The airport has existed since British rule and was formerly known as Lydda Airport and then Lod Airport, the Hebrew transliteration of it, which is what the Houthis called it in their statement.

The Houthis said that the strike on the airport was a success for those who support the Palestinian cause because it highlighted the “failure of the American and Israeli interceptor systems to intercept it” and stopped airport traffic for around an hour.

The airport has since resumed flights with a statement on its website stating, “Dear passengers, please be advised that Ben Gurion airport is working as planned, including departures and landings.”

Nasr El-Din Amer, a senior Houthi official, issued a statement warning airlines not to deal with Ben Gurion Airport and risk the safety of their airplanes.

“It is a target for the missiles of the Yemeni armed forces until the aggression against Gaza stops and the siege is lifted,” Amer said.

“We welcome the countries and airlines that have so far announced the cancellation of their flights to Lod Airport or what is called ‘Ben Gurion’ in order to preserve the safety of airplanes and passengers, and we call on the rest of the airlines and countries to the same rational and safe behavior.”

The Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement that the incident was being investigated after acknowledging that “several interception attempts” were made to stop the missile. Israeli Police said in a statement that the entrances to the airport were blocked until the scene could be cleared.

The IDF told CNN that it had fired its long-range Arrow interceptor at the missile. Last year, former President Joe Biden directed the U.S. to send a THAAD defense system to Israel.

At least five people were injured because of the missile strike, Israeli media reported. Yair Hetzroni, the senior police commander overseeing the airport, showed journalists a crater caused by the missile, which caused no significant damage to airport facilities or runways.

Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement: “Anyone who hits us, we will hit them seven times stronger.”

May 3 (UPI) — South Korea’s defense industry is gaining global interest, as demonstrated by high-profile visits from U.S. figures like Donald Trump Jr., who met with business leaders in Seoul Tuesday. Reportedly, among them was Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan.

Vice Chairman Kim also hosted US Navy Secretary John Phelan Wednesday at Hanwha’s shipyard in Geoje, roughly 200miles southeast of Seoul.

“Working with leading shipyards like Hanwha Ocean Shipbuilding and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is essential to ensuring deployed U.S. ships and systems remain fully operational in the Indo-Pacific,” Secretary Phelan said.

“Leveraging the expertise of these highly capable shipyards enables timely maintenance and repairs for our vessels to operate at peak performance. This level of large-scale repair and maintenance capability strengthens our combat readiness, sustains forward deployed operational presence, and reinforces regional stability,” he stated

Observers point out that such visits reflect growing global recognition of South Korea’s defense capabilities.

Hanwha Group operates such subsidiaries as Hanwha Aerospace, known for the K9 self-propelled howitzers, and Hanwha Ocean, a manufacturer of warships and submarines.

As the eldest son of Chairman Kim Seung-youn, Vice Chairman Kim is regarded as the heir apparent of South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate.

“For the United States, South Korea is indispensable to reviving its shipbuilding industry, as President Donald Trump has stressed,” Seoul-based consultancy Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun told UPI.

“Washington is likely to seek South Korea’s capital and technology as the country is a global leader in naval vessel construction. Hanwha Ocean is well-positioned, having already invested in the U.S. last year,” he said.

In June 2024, Hanwha Ocean and its sister company channeled $100 million to acquire Philly Shipyard, which has delivered about half of the large U.S. Jones Act commercial ships since 2000.

Hanwha Ocean was soon awarded a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) contract for the U.S. Navy’s dry cargo and ammunition ship Wally Schirra.

The task was completedin Geoje and Hanwha Ocean is now working on another MRO deal for USNS Yukon, a replenishment oiler assigned to the Navy’s 7th Fleet.

Beyond the U.S., the traditional weapons of South Korea gained popularity after the war between Russia and Ukraine started in early 2022.

According to South Korea’s defense ministry, arms exports more than doubled from $7.73 billion in 2021 to $17.3 billion in 2022. The figure dropped to $13 billion in 2023 and $9.5 billion last year, but is projected to rebound to $24 billion this year in consideration of ongoing negotiations with multiple countries.

In addition to Hanwha, several other South Korean defense corporations have proactively entered the global market, including Hyundai Rotem, Korea Aerospace Industries, LIG Nex1, and HD Hyundai.

“South Korean firms are favored by global buyers for their quick delivery and cost-effectiveness, the advantages shaped by the country’s continued weapons production amid North Korean threats,” Jeonbuk National University professor Jang Won-joon said in a phone interview.

“Their international rivals are also trying to expand facilities to better meet demand. Against this backdrop, South Korean players will need to innovate to maintain their edge in the long run,” he commented.

However, some critics take issue with the Seoul administration’s lack of transparency in arms exports.

“The Korean government vows to become one of the world’s top four arms exporters. Yet, it does not disclose related information transparently,” attorney Lim Jae-sung noted in a local newspaper column.

May 3 (UPI) — Changing military technologies, tactics and challenges require the U.S. Army to eliminate waste and modernize its capabilities to ensure “peace through strength,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced.

“To build a leaner, more lethal force, the Army must transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems,” Hegseth said Wednesday in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership..

The goal is to strategically realign forces to “optimize deterrence and rapid deployment … to defend the American homeland and deter China in the Indo-Pacific,” he explained.

To do that, Hegseth directed Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll to “implement a comprehensive transformation strategy, streamline its force structure, eliminate wasteful spending, reform the acquisition process[and] modernize inefficient defense contracts.”

Doing so will “restore the warrior ethos and re-establish deterrence,” Hegseth said.

Improving operational capabilities

The Army must prioritize current resources to improve its long-range precision capabilities and establish an effective “golden dome” air and missile defense over the United States.

Hegseth also wants the Army to improve its cyber, electronic warfare and counter-space defensive capabilities.

He ordered Driscoll to accelerate the delivery of arms that can strike moving land and maritime targets, achieve electromagnetic and “air-littoral dominance,” and enable AI-driven command and control systems by 2027.

The Army also is to extend advanced manufacturing, including 3D printing and additive manufacturing, to Army units by the end of the year.

Hegseth also wants the Army to modernize production of munitions to sustain national defense during wartime and increase its forward presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Driscoll must expand munitions stockpiles, troop deployments and joint exercises with Indo-Pacific allies and partners to maximize strategic capabilities within the region.

Modernizing the Army requires ending the procurement of obsolete systems and scaling back the use of redundant programs, including manned aircraft, Humvees and outdated unmanned aerial vehicles, Hegseth said.

He also wants Driscoll to lower the Army’s spending on obsolete weapons systems and “unnecessary climate-related initiatives” and eliminate wasteful contracts and excess travel funding.

Optimizing force structure and workforce

Driscoll must merge various headquarters to better enable the Army to effectively generate combat power and synchronize “kinetic and non-kinetic fires, space-based capabilities and unmanned systems,” Hegseth said.

Attack helicopter formations are to be reduced and restructured to make way for inexpensive drone swarms that can overwhelm targets, and outdated armor and aviation units are to be eliminated.

He wants Driscoll to downsize, consolidate or close redundant headquarters and review and consolidate operations across depots, arsenals and installations.

Skills and merit are to be prioritized to optimize force structure and achieve maximum military readiness, and general officer positions are to be reduced to streamline command structures.

Hegseth also ordered Driscoll to consolidate budgets and shift spending to ensure the rapid adaptation of new technology and include right-to-repair provisions in contracts that involve intellectual property constraints.

Contracts are to support faster adoption of critical technologies, including software and software-defined hardware.

Performance-based contracts are encouraged to reduce waste, and cost-effective multi-year procurement agreements are preferred.

“As the Army prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, our nation requires her Army to move further, faster and fight harder than any other force on Earth,” Hegseth said.

“President [Donald] Trump and I will not let this nation down,” he concluded.

May 2 (UPI) — The U.S. Navy on Friday removed Cmdr. Joseph Dearing from his duties as commander of the Navy Reserve Center in Manchester, N.H.

The Navy said Dearing was relieved of command “due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command.”

The Navy said in statement, “Cmdr. Joseph Dearing was relieved of his duties as NRC Manchester’s commanding officer by Capt. Christian Parilla, commander of Navy Reserve Region Readiness and Mobilization Command Norfolk … The Navy maintains the highest standards for leaders and holds them accountable when those standards are not met.”

The brief announcement did not detail any alleged wrongdoing by Cmdr. Dearing.

Replacing him is Cmdr. Christopher Worthy, who has been temporarily assigned command of the reserve center.

Dearing, the Navy said, “has been temporarily reassigned to REDCOM Norfolk.”

The Navy did not detail why it lost confidence in Dearing’s ability to command.

Cmdr. Dearing became commanding officer of NRC Manchester in September 2024.

May 2 (UPI) — Lebanon‘s Higher Defence Council on Friday warned the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, against launching attacks or firing rockets into Israel from Lebanese territory, stating that strict measures will be taken to end any actions that violate the country’s sovereignty.

The warning by the country’s top military body came after the Lebanese Army arrested a number of Lebanese and Palestinians suspected of firing rockets into northern Israel on March 22 and March 28. The rocket attacks provoked additional Israeli retaliatory strikes.

While no group claimed responsibility for the rocket firing and Hezbollah denied any link, security reports indicated that three Hamas members were among those detained by the Army.

Major General Mohamad al Mustafa, the Secretary-General of the Higher Defense Council, said after a meeting attended by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam that Hamas was “warned against using Lebanese territories to carry out any action that harms Lebanon’s national security.”

“Maximum necessary measures will be taken to put a definitive end to any action that violates Lebanese sovereignty,” al Mustafa said, reading a statement.

He said that legal proceedings will commence early next week against all those detained and anyone who would be proven involved with last month’s rocket attacks will be prosecuted.

Aoun said during the meeting any attempt to “destabilize” the country, “involve it in wars” or “expose it to danger” will not be tolerated.

Salam emphasized the need for handing over “all illegal weapons” and preventing Hamas or any other factions to “destabilize security and national stability.”

Both leaders, who came to power last January, have remained firm on their pledges to disarm all militias and impose the state monopoly on weapons.

Hamas has carried out several attacks from southern Lebanon against Israel during the Gaza war that broke out in October 2023. Israel on its part killed a number of Hamas leaders based in Lebanon, including the deputy head of the group’s political bureau, Saleh al Arouri.

Lebanon has been trying to consolidate its authority and regain its long-lost sovereignty following Israel’s recent war that greatly weakened the once-powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Mainly, 85% of Hezbollah’s positions and military facilities south of the Litani River in south Lebanon already are being taken by the Lebanese Army and its weapons confiscated in line with the Nov. 27 cease-fire agreement that was brokered by the United States and France to end the war with Israel.

The Army has also begun gradually taking control of some Palestinian positions outside the country’s 12 overcrowded refugee camps located in various regions.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit Beirut on May 21 for talks with his Lebanese counterpart to discuss a mechanism for disarming Palestinian factions inside the camps and expanding Lebanon’s authority.

May 2 (UPI) — President Donald Trump revealed the White House budget request for Fiscal Year 2026 Friday, which requests cuts to foreign aid, education and health care but boosts to the military and border control.

Trump sent a letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, presenting his budget, which would cut spending levels by $163 billion and shrink base nondefense discretionary budget authority by 22.6%.

Agencies like the Department of Housing and Urban Development and National Institutes of Health stand to lose billions of dollars each compared to fiscal 2025 levels. The budget also proposes a nearly $25 billion reduction for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with State Rental Assistance Block Grants on the chopping block.

The Department of Homeland Security, on the other hand, would get “a historic $175 billion investment to,” as Vought wrote, “at long last, fully secure our border.”

The Trump administration also seeks to increase defense spending by 13%, bringing that expenditure up to $1.01 trillion.

Vought wrote that the “recommended funding levels result from a rigorous, line-by-line review of [Fiscal Year] 2025 spending,” which he claimed “was found to be laden with spending contrary to the needs of ordinary working Americans” and instead aimed at “funding niche non-governmental organizations and institutions of higher education committed to radical gender and climate ideologies antithetical to the American way of life.”

Vought also wrote that they considered whether a governmental service provided could “be provided better by state or local governments, if provided at all.”

A total of $325 billion of the proposed increases would be assumed in the budget resolution recently agreed upon by Congress would be achieved through reconciliation, an accelerated process used to consider bills that would put policies represented in a Congressional budget resolution into motion.

Presidential budget requests are not guaranteed to be fulfilled, as congressional appropriators construct the ultimate appropriations bills that become law.

The increases and cuts are a definitive way to view the priorities of an administration, and with both houses under Republican control it would appear that the Trump administration is prepared to exploit that advantage, as Vought posted to X Friday that this budget ensures that “only Republican votes are needed by using reconciliation to secure those increases,” without the impositions of Democrats.

May 1 (UPI) — The Veterans Administration will partner with a trio of nonprofits to honor veterans interred in the VA’s national cemeteries, the administration announced Thursday.

The VA said that, through the partnership with Carry The Load, the Travis Manion Foundation and Victory for Veterans, there will be at least 70,000 volunteers visiting 54 national veterans cemeteries on Memorial Day.

“These collaborations allow us to express our collective appreciation for Veterans’ service and sacrifice,” said Ronald Walters, Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. “Through shared efforts, we honor their legacy and ensure their stories are never forgotten.”

More than 5.4 million people are buried in VA national cemeteries, including more than 4 million ranging from the Revolutionary War to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They include fallen soldiers and eligible family members.

The VA encouraged people to visit the Veterans Legacy Memorial to share memories and stories about service members.

VA officials said that, beginning May 1, Carry The Load Memorial May activities would see volunteers visiting 17 VA national cemeteries, traveling thousands of miles along three routes.

This year’s Travis Manion Foundation’s “Honor Project” will be the largest in its history, with 2,500 volunteers visiting more than 50 cemeteries in more than 25 states throughout Memorial Day weekend, VA officials said.

Meanwhile, volunteers with Victory for Veterans will recognize veterans by placing flowers on veterans’ graves, VA officials said, adding that since 2021 the program has expanded to placing flowers at 10 VA national cemeteries.

May 1 (UPI) — Reports say President Donald Trump will nominate National Security adviser Mike Waltz as the nation’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Unnamed sources earlier told Politico, the New York Times, ABC News and other news outlets that Waltz was about to become the first senior-level adviser released by Trump.

Hours after the reports surfaced, Trump announced his plans to nominate Waltz to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Trump also said he will name Secretary of State Marco Rubio to replace Waltz as national security adviser on an interim basis.

The Senate must confirm Waltz’s ambassadorship and his eventual permanent replacement as National Security adviser.

Trump previously nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but she withdrew her consideration for the position.

Stefanik might run for election as New York’s governor, which has led to tensions between her and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., The Hill reported.

Waltz’s possible replacement as National Security adviser had been discussed for weeks within the White House, ABC News reported.

Some have suggested special envoy Steve Witkoff might step into the role if it becomes vacant.

Witkoff is representing the United States in negotiations with Russia, Iran and Hamas to try to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

Other potential replacements include Stephen Miller, who is Trump’s primary policy adviser; Richard Grenell, who is the president’s special envoy for special missions; and Sebastian Gorka, who is the National Security Council’s senior director for counterterrorism, Politico reported.

Deputy National Security Adviser Alex Wong also might leave his position, the news outlets reported.

Waltz is a military veteran, a former member of Congress from Florida from 2019 until 2025, and a former member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Waltz accidentally included The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg in a secure Signal app chat discussing pending aerial strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15.

Goldberg afterward reported he had been included in the chat due to a mistake made by a Waltz staffer, who intended to include someone else in the chat and not Goldberg.

The military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen have continued since March 15.

Trump says they won’t end until the Houthis stop attacking commercial shipping and U.S. military assets in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and in the air.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for the latest updates.

May 1 (UPI) — Russia launched aerial attacks against five Ukrainian regions in the east, southwest and center of the country overnight, launching balllistic missiles and more than 100 drones that killed at least two people and injured more a dozen.

“While Ukraine makes progress on the international front, Russians continue to bombard our civilian population back home,” deputy prime minister and econony minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote in a post on X Thursday morning, hours after inking a landmark deal to share Ukraine’s mineral resources with the United States.

“Last night, Russia attacked Ukraine with 5 ballistic missiles and 170 drones. Among the targets was our historic coastal city of Odessa, with 2 people killed and 15 injured. Apartment buildings, a school and other civilian infrastructure destroyed,” she wrote.

Odessa Gov. Oleh Kiper shared images on Telegram showing extensive damage to a large apartment building in the key Black Sea port, emergency service personnel tackling major fires, and shattered shopfronts.

Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk were also targeted.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on his Telegram account that an elderly woman was hospitalized Thursday morning after being caught in a what officials believe was a delayed-action cluster munitions explosion in the southeastern part of the capital.

“The explosive part of the downed drone went off with a delay. An elderly woman, a resident of the Darnytskyi district, was injured,” he wrote.

Kyiv City Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenkov said the blast was among 10 unidentified detonations recorded in the area being investigated as possible delayed-action munitions.

Acting Kyiv Gov. Mykola Kalashnyk said in an update on social media that three areas of the city, including the Boryspil district, were hit overnight with 12 private houses and a shop damaged mostly by fires ignited by falling debris from drones downed by air defenses.

Rural districts in the surrounding region were also targeted.

“Another overnight attack by Russian UAVs on Kyiv Oblast. Air defense systems were active in the region. Several aerial targets were shot down. There are no civilian casualties,” Kalashnyk said/

“Residents whose property was damaged will be provided with all necessary assistance. We are already working on this together with local authorities and our international partners.”

At least eight explosions were heard in the eastern city of Sumy after “Shahed” type attack drones were detected heading toward the regional capital by the Ukrainian Air Force.

Acting Mayor Artem Kobzar said an industrial facility was badly damaged but that no casualties had been reported.

In Kharkiv, four explosions were reported in the northwest of the city.

“Early reports indicate that the enemy has hit the Kyivskyi district in Kharkiv with a Molniya UAV,” Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said on his social media account.

Earlier reports said a gas station was set ablaze late Wednesday after being struck by a drone.

Production equipment, raw materials and cars were also damaged in a drone strike that ignited a major blaze at an industrial and warehouse complex in Vasyshcheve, 12 miles south of Kharkiv.

The Air Force said it shot down or jammed 74 of a total of 170 drones launched overnight.

The attacks came as Svyrydenko and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed a long-delayed agreement Wednesday on sharing Ukraine’s resources, particularly its deposits of so-called “rare earths,” and the setting up of a joint Investment Reconstruction Fund in exchange for continued U.S. military and other assistance.

The breakthrough came on the 101st day of the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to bring an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, with the minerals deal a central plank of his plan.

Svyrydenko traveled to Washington three days after Trump held a one-to-one private meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky inside the Vatican on the sidelines of the funeral of the late Pope Francis, with iconic images later emerging of the pair huddled in intense conversation in a corner of St. Peter’s Basilica.