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Pete Hegseth was narrowly confirmed to lead the Department of Defense under the new Trump administration last week despite allegations of sexual assault and drinking on the job. He has denied the allegations against him, and landed the role by the skin of his teeth after Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 vote in the Senate and confirmed his nomination.
In his first week, Hegseth didn’t wait long to share his thoughts on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The newly appointed secretary of defense described his stance on the hot-button topic in a social media post on Sunday, sharing a photo of official letterhead with the phrase: “DoD ≠ DEI*.” The note added that there would be “no exceptions, name-changes or delays,” and that “those who do not comply will no longer work here.” It was reportedly distributed to Pentagon employees over the weekend. The Department of Defense did not respond to Fortune’s request for additional comment.
President Trump has already signed one executive order that is intended to dismantle DEI programs at federal agencies. But he followed that up with another round of executive orders late Monday night, one of which was specifically targeted at DEI in the armed forces.
"I ordered the end to all of the lawless diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense policies across the government and all across the private sector and the military," Mr. Trump said at the House GOP retreat Monday night. "We're getting it out and we've gotten it out pretty much. We did that in one week, and it wasn't that easy, but everybody wanted it."
The new order includes cutting DEI offices within the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security. The DoD has also been tasked with conducting an internal review of DEI initiatives, which will culminate in a report to the Trump administration. The DoD and Armed Forces are also prohibited from promoting the idea that “America’s founding documents are racist or sexist,” or promoting or advancing “gender ideology” as defined by the Trump administration.
The new executive order will likely reshape the military in various ways over the next few months as the secretary of defense and the secretary of homeland security continue to issue detailed guidance to agencies on the new action. And it’s just the latest move—but likely not the last—that we’ll see from the Trump administration on the subject.
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
