Senator Tommy Tuberville has found himself in the spotlight again, this time for an unusual approach to describing the Pentagon.
While discussing government spending on Fox News, the Alabama Republican suggested reshaping the Defense Department—literally.
His comments quickly gained attention, especially after he introduced a brand-new word: “trigon.”
The Controversial Interview
During a conversation with Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham, Tuberville was asked about potential budget cuts to the Department of Defense.
He responded with a suggestion that raised eyebrows:
“We have to start in the Pentagon.
We need to make a trigon—three sides instead of five sides of the Pentagon,” he stated, calling the department “way too big” and “over-bloated.”
His remarks came just after the House passed a budget plan increasing defense spending by $100 billion over the next decade.
The Pentagon’s latest budget stands at approximately $850 billion, and it has failed seven consecutive audits, fueling concerns about financial mismanagement.
Criticism of the Pentagon’s Workforce
Beyond his geometric proposal, Tuberville also took aim at the sheer number of personnel working in and around the Pentagon.
“They have what? 30, 40,000 in the Pentagon and 100,000 people across the street in Arlington that are making tons of money,” he said, arguing that spending should be redirected to directly benefit military operations.
He emphasized the need to prioritize resources for those in active service: “We have to cut back and do it for the warfighter—help the warfighter build equipment and do the things we need to do.”
Backing Trump’s Defense Strategy
Tuberville voiced strong support for President Trump’s new Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who has vowed to eliminate inefficiencies in military spending.
“We can get the cuts, but we need to continue to do what Pete has done: cut out all the bloat and all the DEI,” Tuberville stated.
“Get our military back to a killing machine. Somebody that can protect this country and our allies.”
The Role of Elon Musk’s DOGE in Military Reform
One of the more surprising revelations in the discussion was the claim that the Defense Department would be utilizing Elon Musk’s DOGE technology to combat waste, fraud, and abuse within the military.
According to Hegseth, the system would provide critical insights into budget inefficiencies, allowing for better allocation of resources.
“With DOGE, we are focusing as much as we can on headquarters and fat and top-line stuff that allows us to reinvest elsewhere,” Hegseth said in a video released last week.
He also announced an immediate shift of roughly $50 billion from nonlethal programs to prioritize Trump’s “America First” defense policies.
What’s Next?
Tuberville’s remarks have sparked debate over both the feasibility and necessity of his proposed defense budget cuts.
While some applaud his calls to eliminate wasteful spending, others question the practicality of reshaping the Pentagon or dramatically downsizing its workforce.
With the defense budget under continued scrutiny and the new administration pushing for reforms, the conversation around military spending is far from over.
Whether Tuberville’s “trigon” comment was a simple slip of the tongue or a deeper metaphor for streamlining the military remains to be seen.