Wisconsin’s Sixth District Congressman hopes a trend will continue after Congress recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2026 fiscal year.
Congressman Glenn Grothman, who represents Manitowoc County in Washington, says that he’s proud the bill, including a salary raise for active-duty members, was approved.
However, he’s also hoping the number of non-uniformed personnel in the U.S. Military continues to shrink after talking with a representative from the U.S. Department of War.
“The Trump Administration has already reduced the number of employees that are not uniformed, not engaged in combat, by about 20%,” he noted. “We agreed, talking to the representative from the Department of Defense, that 20% could get as high at 40% by the time Donald Trump leaves office.”
Rep. Grothman continued to explain on the WCUB Breakfast Club that he told the representative the federal government is spending too much on office space that the military does not use.
He said DOGE, or the Department of Government Efficiency, found that out.
The 2026 defense bill also includes gradually withdrawing troops from Europe and toward Central and South America, and cuts back on DEI initiatives.
More information on the bill can be found at congress.gov.
