Hegseth Pressures Scouting America to Ban Transgender Youth
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that Scouting America will implement policy changes targeting transgender youths at the Pentagon's direction, requiring members to use their "biological sex at birth and not gender identity" on applications and prohibiting opposite-gender individuals from sharing bathrooms, tents, and similar spaces. Hegseth stated the Pentagon will "vigorously review" the organization's compliance and withdraw support if it fails to comply, declaring his intent to restore the organization to its original purpose of developing "boys into men."
The policy changes include discontinuing the Citizenship in Society merit badge, introducing a Military Service merit badge, and waiving registration fees for military children's families. Scouting America acknowledged the need to comply with Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs but avoided explicitly addressing the transgender youth restrictions in its public statement. The organization emphasized maintaining its 2024 rebrand name and service to over 200,000 girls in its programs.
Hegseth's Pentagon campaign against diversity efforts extends beyond Scouting America, including ending military training partnerships at Harvard and removing what he calls "woke distractions" from the military newspaper Stars and Stripes. The Pentagon previously stated the organization had "lost its way" and violated administration values through DEI initiatives and "gender-fluid ideological stances," demanding rapid implementation of what it termed "common-sense, core value reforms."
Scouting America's historical evolution toward inclusion, including accepting gay youths in 2013, ending the blanket ban on gay adult leaders in 2015, and accepting transgender students in 2017, directly conflicts with Hegseth's vision. The organization began accepting girls as Cub Scouts in 2018 and into the Boys Scout program in 2019, reaching approximately 1 million members last year with minimal membership growth of about 16,000 new scouts.
The military has maintained a century-long partnership with Scouting America, providing logistical support for the National Boy Scout Jamboree since 1937 and maintaining strong relationships with Eagle Scouts, who frequently enlist. Hegseth's personnel decisions at the Pentagon demonstrate his broader effort to reshape military institutions and remove individuals perceived as opposing his ideological direction.