Do you have a specific example of a wasteful STEM research project that was cut?

My (perhaps wrong) impression was that wastefulness was given as the reason for making the cuts, but that the cuts were done broadly and indiscriminately [1].

In other words, the actions don't match the stated goal of reducing wastefulness. They seem more like a punishment for the members of all scientific institutions, and deterrence for curiosity-driven research.

[1] For example, the cuts to the STEM grants & projects didn't seem attached to any evidence of said projects' wastefulness.