Tuberville Speaks with DOD Nominees on Bolstering Cyber Capabilities and Reducing Bureaucracy at DOD

April 6, 2025 = WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) spoke with Mr. Anthony Tata, President Trump's nominee to be Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and Ms. Katherine Sutton, President Trump's nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy during their Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) nomination hearing. During their conversation, Sen. Tuberville asked about the funding levels for cyber operations and how the Department of Defense plans to decrease top-heavy bloat within the agency.

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to both of you for your willingness to serve.

Ms. Sutton, the President released the topline of his FY26 budget last week. We look forward to learning all the details of the proposal weeks ahead. We do know that this year's budget request for cyber operations was $14.5 billion-up one billion from the previous year. Given the rapid involvement of the landscape in cyber, do you believe this funding level is sufficient to meet our security needs?"

SUTTON: "Senator, I share your concern with making sure we are balancing the resources available with the growing threat-as you indicated. One of the primary responsibilities, if confirmed in this role, is to review the budget and to certify that to ensure it's necessary. One of the things that is particularly unique about the cyber domain is that many of the capabilities are a software capability. And so, investments in this domain can have a very immediate response into providing options for the President and Secretary [of Defense] and [I] look forward to having the opportunity to highlight where we can better integrate this and perhaps shore up additional resources as needed."

TUBERVILLE: "What role will cyber play in the future of possibly the Golden Dome?"

SUTTON: "Senator, in my current role, I've not been involved in the specifics of that discussion, but I think that what we see with all of our weapon systems is the importance of building in cyber security from the beginning to make sure that as we put these capabilities out, that we're able to defend them and that they're secure against what will be [...] an attack surface that our adversaries will definitely look to exploit."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you.

Mr. Tata, I reviewed your record: public service, combat veteran, [...] Lieutenant Secretary of Transportation, leading tens of thousands of military members in civil service, conducting complex missions. Anything you hadn't done? My goodness."

TATA: "Senator, I appreciate that comment."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you for your service. But instead of exploring the experience, my colleagues seem to be focused on some things that you said in the past, and I find this interesting given the last four years where a lot of the Democratic Party continued to call conservatives, 'Nazis,' 'Fascists,' [and] 'threats to the democracy.' You know, it goes both ways here. You know, the previous administration fully weaponized our justice system [...] to attack and punish their political opposition, [they had] grandmothers thrown into prison for peaceful protests. It just goes on and on. Out of curiosity, Mr. Tata, have you labeled people you disagreed with Nazis?"

TATA: "Senator, I have not."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you. Have you ever weaponized your previous offices to punish your political opponent?"

TATA: "Senator, I have not."

TUBERVILLE: "I didn't think so. Yesterday, Secretary Hegseth announced [...] a two-phased approach to reducing our top-level military. Phase one is a 20% reduction of active Four-Star Generals and Flag Officers as well as a 20% [reduction] from the National Guard Bureau [...]. Phase two will be an additional 10% [reduction]-the Undersecretary of Personnel and Readiness will be leading this initiative. I'm interested in your thoughts on this announcement."

TATA: "Senator, anytime that we're talking about tooth-to-tail ratio, I think it's a good conversation. The Secretary's comment about the number of generals when we were in World War II versus the number we have today, I think, is a stark reminder that perhaps we've become a little bit of a bureaucracy. And so, he talked about a methodical and measured way of going about finding the for-structure realignment that would allow for the reductions he's talking about."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you. Can we expect a complementary effort to reduce the real bloat at OSD and Joint Staff, which have increased by two to five times respectively over the last 25 years, while our total force numbers have decreased?"

TATA: "Senator, if confirmed, I would work with you and the rest of this committee on optimizing the workforce and the military."

TUBERVILLE: "Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman."

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans' Affairs, HELP and Aging Committees