Illegal -- the Pentagon’s new “Project Meridian” committee as currently comprised
The Pentagon’s budget is bloated — too bloated. Last week, we shared an update on the Pentagon’s new “Project Meridian” committee, which will help decide which new weapons and technologies the military buys. It is stacked with people who run, work for, or are financially tied to the AI and defense industries. No one is there to speak for taxpayers. We’ve had enough! We asked Secretary Hegseth to fix it, and he hasn’t. Now we’re going to court. POGO has joined CREW and Public Citizen in a lawsuit alleging that Project Meridian was created and is operating in violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires panels like this to be fairly balanced and operate openly. If the committee was truly balanced, it could produce meaningful recommendations that would both be cost effective and make our country safer. Unfortunately, the committee is loaded with special interests who stand to benefit from more military spending. The time to act is now — t...
