On women in the military, Pete Hegseth takes yet another step backwards

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Given the defense secretary’s record, he appears to have a real problem with women in the U.S. armed forces.

Hegseth sure does seem to have a problem with women in the military:
- shuttered Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services
- scrapped Trump-backed Women, Peace, and Security program
- ousted disproportionate number of women from military leadership roles www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-24T16:35:41.574Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/women-military-pete-hegseth-takes-yet-another-step-backwards-rcna233435

The Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, which has existed since 1951, was hardly a controversial panel in the Pentagon, but Secretary Pete Hegseth decided to end it anyway. Politico reported:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has shuttered a nearly century-old committee created to expand the role of women in the military, part of a broader effort to redefine the image of the armed forces. ... Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson, in announcing the latest decision Tuesday on X, said the committee ‘is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness.’

For now, let’s put aside questions as to why Donald Trump’s Defense Department sees feminism as “divisive” and how the committee enjoyed support for generations (including Trump’s first term) without affecting readiness.

A couple of months ago, the beleaguered Cabinet secretary used his social media account to amplify a video about a Christian nationalist church that included various pastors saying women should no longer be allowed to vote.

That came on the heels of Hegseth boasting about scrapping the Pentagon’s Women, Peace, and Security program — a program intended to boost women’s role in peace-building and conflict prevention missions — describing it as “woke” and a priority for “feminists.”.....

The Atlantic’s Tom Nichols recently explained, “At this point, women have been cleared out of all of the military’s top jobs. ... Some observers might see a pattern here. Discerning this pattern does not exactly require Columbo-level sleuthing.”