Pete Hegseth Threatens To Pull Defense Dept Support For Scouting America

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has threatened to cut all Defense Department support to Scouting America (formerly Boy Scouts of America) unless it purges all of its DEI initiatives “and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances.”

Hegseth, who was never a scout, has long hated on the organization’s embrace of diversity and called the group’s pro-LGBTQ+ policies “unacceptable.”

Here’s the statement from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell which reads almost like parody – “Back to God and country — immediately!”

Some of the history, for context, via LGBTQ Nation:

In 2013, Boy Scouts of America began admitting out gay scouts. Two years later, the organization lifted its ban on adults in leadership positions who are also “open or avowed homosexuals.” In 2017, the Boy Scouts announced girls would be accepted as Cub Scouts and later accepted into the flagship Boy Scout program.

Around the same time, the scouting organization began welcoming transgender boys into its boys-only programs.

Hegseth’s threat comes ahead of Scouting America’s quadrennial National Jamboree in the mountains of West Virginia this summer. The once-every-four-year camping summit relies on hundreds of West Virginia National Guard and active-duty service members for medical, security, and logistical support.

Parnell mentions DOD and Scouting America nearing “a final agreement,” but doesn’t mention what concessions might be in play.

The Jamboree, scheduled for July, is expected to draw more than 15,000 Scouts from throughout the country.