Transcript of Trump administration orders Pentagon to cut budget

The other breaking headline tonight involves the Pentagon. We have learned this evening President Trump's sweeping budget cuts will target the Pentagon next. The deepest cuts in more than a decade. Sources telling ABC News Secretary Hegset could be planning to fire some military generals. And tonight, the firings have already affected military veterans who worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Here's our senior political correspondent, Rachel Scott.

Tonight, President Trump's budget acts preparing to swing at the largest agency in the federal government, with deep cuts at the Pentagon now on the horizon. Sources tell ABC News Defense Secretary, Pete Hegset, has asked top Pentagon officials to draw plans for a sweeping 8% cut. The Department hasn't seen cuts this deep in more than a decade. The news comes as sources tell ABC News, Heggsett is preparing to fire or remove a series of top generals and senior officers, a list of their names already circulating among Republicans on Capitol Hill. The big question, does it include the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, CQ Brown? Seth once said Brown had to go, but on the new secretary's first day in charge, he held back.

The chairman, the Joint Chiefs, and staff, and other members of the Joint Chiefs staff.

They're in with it right now. Looking forward to working with it. The Pentagon also has a huge civilian staff, some 878,000 people. Stand up, Elon. President Trump has instructed Elon Musk to dive in as the billionaire moves to slash the federal workforce. They will be looking at military. The layoff's already impacting those who have served. At 1,000 workers fired from the Department of Veteran Affairs. Democratic Senator, Tammy Duckworth, says some of them work for the Veterans Crisis Hotline, fielding calls from veterans dealing with mental health crises and suicidal thoughts. She says the VA is now trying to hire those workers back. It's a middle finger to our heroes and their lives of service. Andrew Lennix, who served as a Marine in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, was just fired from his job at the VA in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Shock and disbelief, and then just straight it's a danger because then all I started hearing were these sound bites of parasitic, unproductive, lazy, entitled government workers. All I can think about is from my experience, nobody was telling me I was lazy in Afghanistan when I'm sleeping in a hole.

Tonight, the Pentagon is confirming they are moving forward with that 8% cut totaling around $50 billion. The Pentagon says that money will now be redirected to other defense priorities for the Trump administration, David.

All right, Rachel Scott, tonight.. Rachel, thank.