That’s a lot of cutting.

The Hill — National security spending could be cut by as much as $700 billion in a deal to raise the debt limit, defense sources said.

That’s almost twice the amount President Obama originally proposed.

Obama directed the Defense Department and other national-security agencies to slash $400 billion by 2023.  But in the closed-door talks to raise the debt ceiling, larger Pentagon funding cuts have been seriously discussed, several sources said, putting the number between $600 billion and $700 billion over a decade.

A final decision has yet to be made, but the sources said negotiators have not ruled out making deeper cuts than Obama planned.