Northrop Grumman has attempted to distance itself from DEI after promoting it for years. (Getty)
The awarding of the contract was controversial in its own right, after Boeing dropped out of the bidding, claiming that the process was rigged against it, Responsible Statecraft reported.
"The massive expansion of costs for Northrop Grumman's Minuteman III program is the case example for why poorly-scoped, blank check programs are a bad idea," a senior Republican Congressional official who works on defense policy told Fox News Digital.
"This is bad for national security, bad for taxpayers, and Republicans will fix this mess that Biden's team created," the official added.
Questions have also been raised by some in recent years about whether the Sentinel program is even necessary, including at a Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group press conference last year, when former Democratic Congressman John Tierney said that Sentinel "does not add to our security" and could "actually make us less safe."
DOGE INITIAL FINDINGS ON DEFENSE DEPARTMENT DEI SPENDING COULD SAVE $80M, AGENCY SAYS
Elon Musk's Tesla showroom locations have faced repeated protests over his role in DOGE. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
"Diversity Has a Home at Northrop Grumman," a YouTube video from ClearanceJobs says in a post that features Northrop Grumman employees discussing the diversity of the company.
"Northrop’s Sentinel Program is a DOGE poster child," a person close to the Trump administration told Fox News Digital. "Not only did they practice DEI, the program is ineffective, delayed, and wasting billions of taxpayer money. Musk would have a field day."
DOGE's cost-cutting efforts have affected essentially every area of government, including the Defense Department, which recently announced that over $580 million worth of contracts have been canceled as Democrats continue to blast the efforts and make the case that DOGE cuts are detrimental to the country.
"I’ve seen it with my own eyes, billions of dollars spent on pricey consulting firms, grants and NGO‘s—the self-serving bureaucrats in Washington DC have found a million different ways to rip-off the American taxpayer," special advisor to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake told Fox News Digital.
"I’m working very closely with DOGE at the agency President Trump asked me to oversee. Our DOGE team is not political, they are practical. They know that it’s not practical for the U.S. government to continue spending the way it has been. Our country won’t survive unless we cut back right now, and the hard-working men and women across this country support that."
Kari Lake, former U.S. Republican Senate candidate for Arizona, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference Argentina in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (Anita Pouchard Serra/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Northrop Grumman touted recent progress in the program.
"We continue to make substantial progress on the Sentinel Weapon System," the spokesperson said. "On March 6, we completed the missile’s stage one static fire test, the latest of many test events that validate the rocket motor’s performance and digital design. We continue to mature the design and reduce risk as we prepare for production and deployment of this essential national security capability."
Regarding DEI, the spokesperson said, "We have reviewed our policies and processes and continue to take the steps necessary to ensure compliance with the orders for the work entrusted to us. Northrop Grumman is committed to our customers’ missions, delivering technologies they need to deter threats, prevail in conflicts, and strengthen national security. Underpinned by our values, we hire, promote, and pay based on merit and performance resulting in the best team to deliver for our customers."
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
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