WASHINGTON - The US Department of Defense said on Wednesday that about $50 billion in funding was being redirected to President Donald Trump's priorities for national defense.

The Pentagon has ordered the military to draw up a list of potential cuts totaling $50 billion from the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2026.

"The department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars," reported CNBC, quoting Robert Salesses, who is performing the duties of the deputy defense secretary.

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"The offsets are targeted at 8 percent of the Biden Administration's FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump's priorities," Salesses said.

The statement clarifies a memo reported on Wednesday by Reuters from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asked some parts of the military to propose what could be cut as part of a potential 8 percent spending reduction for them over each of the next five years, US officials said on Wednesday.

There was a long list of exemptions, including US Indo-Pacific Command, funding for the military's mission along the US border with Mexico, as well as missile defense and autonomous weapons, one of the officials said.

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The military's commands that oversee operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa were not exempt. 

The Pentagon's budget is approaching $1 trillion per year. In December, then-President Joe Biden signed a bill authorizing $895 billion in defense spending for the fiscal year ending Sept 30.