Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth crowed about shutting down a “woke” women in the military program Tuesday—which it turns out was enacted by President Donald Trump.
“This morning, I proudly ENDED the ‘Women, Peace & Security’ (WPS) program inside the @DeptofDefense,” Hegseth wrote. “WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING.”
Hegseth said he would gut the program—which promotes women’s participation in resolving overseas conflicts—to the minimum required by law.
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“GOOD RIDDANCE WPS!” he wrote.
While Hegseth is now disparaging the program, Trump’s first administration was the driving force behind its implementation.
The Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 was signed into law by Trump during his first term.
After social media users pointed out that fact, Hegseth fired back with another X post blaming former President Joe Biden for corrupting the program instituted by Trump.
“The woke & weak Biden Administration distorted & weaponized the straight-forward & security-focused WPS initiative launched in 2017,” he wrote. “So—yes—we are ending the ‘woke divisive/social justice/Biden (WPS) initiative.’”
The act was a bipartisan bill sponsored by two of Trump’s top Cabinet members. Then-Rep. Kristi Noem, who is now homeland security secretary, wrote the version for the House, while then-Sen. Marco Rubio, who is now secretary of state, helped adapt the bill for the Senate.
Earlier this month, Rubio praised the bill as “the first law passed by any country in the world focused on protecting women and promoting their participation in society,” Politico reported.
The Democrat who helped Rubio author the bill, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, condemned Hegseth’s decisions as part of “a dangerous and disturbing pattern.”
“He also continues to ignore the invaluable role women play in our national security,” she told Politico. “It’s startling that just because the word ‘women’ is in the title, this evidence-based security program has been reduced to a DEI program.”
In June 2019, Trump’s White House published a 20-page strategic plan laying out how it would ensure that security agencies were pushing toward Congress’ goal of giving women a bigger role in mediating international disputes.
“The Trump Administration is committed to advancing women’s equality, seeking to protect the rights of women and girls, and promoting women and youth empowerment programs,” read the report’s first line.
The report ordered the Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security to develop their own plans for carrying out the law’s directive.
Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, who was a White House adviser during his first term, touted the strategy, which she helped unveil.
“Almost 20 years after @UN Resolution 1325, the U.S. is proud to show leadership as the first and only Country in the world with a comprehensive law on Women, Peace and Security, #WPS,” she wrote on X, “bipartisan legislation signed into law by @POTUS Trump.”
In 2022, Biden’s White House cited the Trump-generated strategy as the north star of its efforts to enact Congress’ will.
The White House and the Pentagon did not immediately reply to the Daily Beast’s request for comment on the switch-up.
During the nomination process, Hegseth faced concerns from senators about his past comments arguing that women should not hold combat roles—alongside worries about allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse (which Hegseth denied).
Hegseth eventually walked back his stance on women in the military, saying in his confirmation hearing that “women will have access to ground combat roles, given the standards remain high. And we will have a review to ensure the standards have not been eroded.”
After becoming secretary, though, he has worried female soldiers by ordering each of the military’s departments to develop “sex-neutral” physical fitness standards.
