Special Poll
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that he is officially ending a Pentagon program designed to promote women’s participation in peace-building and security efforts.
The Women, Peace, and Security program, originally signed into law by President Trump during his first term with bipartisan backing, had been promoted by the administration as a milestone in advancing women’s economic empowerment. Trump’s former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was a Congressmember at the time, was one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
In a post on social media Tuesday, Hegseth said the Department of Defense would work to terminate the program, criticizing it as “yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative” that he argued burdens military commanders and detracts from their primary mission of war-fighting. He described the initiative as a United Nations-backed program supported by feminists and left-wing activists, claiming that it was deeply unpopular among troops.
After some pointed out that the program had initially been championed by Trump himself, Hegseth shifted blame onto the Biden administration, accusing them of having “distorted and weaponized” what he described as an originally straightforward, security-focused effort. He said that the current version of the program had moved far from its original purpose and reaffirmed that he would proceed with dismantling what he labeled a divisive, social justice-driven initiative.