Pentagon angst is as old as the military-industrial complex. Past secretaries of defence, including Bob Gates and the late Ash Carter, were philosopher kings next to their new and manifestly unqualified successor, Pete Hegseth. And yet the defence bureaucracy has always seemed to come out on top.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz suggested in a separate interview that the Pentagon's shipbuilding processes could be an area of particular interest for the Department of Government Efficiency.