Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared Tuesday that he is killing a first-term Trump administration program focused on women in national security – claiming former President Joe Biden turned it “woke.”
The Pentagon chief announced the move in a tweet, saying the Department of Defense would wind down its “Women, Peace and Security” program, which he assailed as an initiative pushed by “feminists and left-wing activists.
“WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING,” Hegseth blasted out.
“WPS is a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it.”
He said the Defense Department would execute the minimum amount of work required by statute to keep the program breathing before fighting to end it in the next budget.
The social-media post was later slapped with a community note to make clear it was Hegseth’s boss, President Trump, who created the program during his first term to promote greater involvement by women to try to stop conflicts across the globe.
The president has even boasted about the initiative in campaign literature, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary of State Marco Rubio both backed legislation that brought the program to life when they were in Congress.
Rubio praised the WPS earlier this month at the State Department.
“President Trump also signed the Women, Peace, and Security Act, a bill that I was very proud to have been a co-sponsor of when I was in the Senate,” Rubio said.
“It was the first comprehensive law passed in any country in the world – the first law passed by any country anywhere in the world – focused on protecting women and promoting their participation in society.”
Hegseth attempted to clean up his initial criticism of the WPS by claiming in a later tweet that Biden ruined it.
“The woke & weak Biden Administration distorted & weaponized the straight-forward & security-focused WPS initiative launched in 2017,” Hegseth said.
“So—yes—we are ending the ‘woke divisive/social justice/Biden (WPS) initiative.’ Biden ruined EVERYTHING, including ‘Women, Peace & Security.’”
Hegseth has been under pressure over reports alleging he shared wars plans in unsecured Signal chats, including with a journalist mistakenly added in one group thread and his wife and brother in a second chat.
The Pentagon has also seen a series of notable departures that led to questions about Hegseth’s ability to do his job, though Trump is so far backing him.
With Post wires
