US lawmakers boost key Pentagon test office slashed by Hegseth

Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News on Jan 20, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Congressional lawmakers green-lighting $839 billion in U.S. defense spending voiced strong support for an embattled test office at the Pentagon that was slashed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, highlighting its value at preventing the “catastrophic failure” of U.S. weapons and military equipment.

The test office ensures key national security priorities, including the planned “Golden Dome” missile defense system, are safe and effective, lawmakers wrote in a statement accompanying a defense spending measure that’s part of a larger package the U.S. House is expected to vote on this week.

Though not legally binding, the language is a formal warning shot that U.S. lawmakers in the House and Senate are skeptical of Hegseth’s move to remove 75% of the employees at the Operational Test and Evaluation office, as President Donald Trump’s defense chief tries to cut red tape and reform a slow weapons acquisition process.

The joint House-Senate spending agreement released on Tuesday “highlights concerns” that staff reductions come “at a time when the test and evaluation community is transforming to support unprecedented production and fielding requirements,” negotiators said in a statement accompanying the spending legislation. The proposed bill appropriates $336 million for Pentagon test activities. including the office, or about $18 million more than the White House’s request.

In a May 27 memo, Hegseth framed the decision to scale back the agency as a cost-cutting move that would save $300 million a year. A “comprehensive internal review identified redundant and nonessential functions” affecting “our ability to rapidly and effectively deploy the best systems to the warfighter,” Hegseth said.

A month later the top House Republican who oversees Pentagon spending expressed concern about Hegseth’s order as the U.S. embarks on a number of major military initiatives, including the so-called Golden Dome and a new F-47 warplane.

“This decision is surprising,” Representative Ken Calvert of California, chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee, told Bloomberg News in June.

The joint language published on Tuesday indicates Calvert’s view was shared on the spending committee, which noted “the need to prevent catastrophic failure and ensure systems and weapons are safe, effective, secure, and reliable remains paramount.”

Hegseth also is directed to “submit a detailed report and provide a briefing, to the congressional defense committees” on the test office cutbacks no later than two months after the spending bill is signed into law. That report needs to include a “detailed program plan” for how the Pentagon intends to meet rigorous independent testing requirements.