Pete Hegseth declares that Scouting America will eliminate transgender tolerance & diversity programs

Scouting America will root out tolerance of transgender scouts, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It’s part of a series of compromises aimed at eliminating “diversity, equity, and inclusion” inside the youth organization, all agreed to in order to maintain a century-long partnership with the Department of Defense.

Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.

“These and other changes that scouting America’s leadership committed to,” Hegseth said in a six-minute online video, “will hopefully result in a rededication to the foundational ideals that have defined scouting for generations: duty to God and country, leadership, character, and service.”

Related: Scouting America 'surprised and disappointed' after U.S. military threatens to cut ties

Related: How the Boy Scouts became a target of the Trump administration's wrath

Scouting America has not yet confirmed the changes Hegseth announced. But the organization has been in negotiations with the Secretary for months about a continued partnership, which allows scouting activities on military bases. For years, Eagle Scouts have also been eligible for an advanced rank upon enlisting in the military.\

In November, after Hegseth accused Scouting America of trying to "attack boy-friendly spaces,” a spokesperson for the organization told The Advocate that the group was "surprised and disappointed by [the] news about the potential policy change," especially given that “the Scouting movement has had a strong relationship with our nation’s military going back more than a century."

“Scouting is and has always been a nonpartisan organization,” the spokesperson said. “Over more than a century, we’ve worked constructively with every U.S. presidential administration, Republican and Democrat, focusing on our common goal of building future leaders grounded in integrity, responsibility, and community service."

Changes include applications for Scouting now only including male or female genders, and the elimination of any recognition of gender identity. Hegseth said the organization, since 2012, had made several steps in violation of Defense Department values, including welcoming “the destructive myth of gender fluidity and transgenderism.”

Related: Senate Republicans deflect Democrats’ tough Pete Hegseth questions by making transgender people a joke

He now says Scouting America has agreed to require all members, youth and adult alike, to identify themselves by the gender that appears on their birth certificate. "Along the way, standards were lowered and merit destroyed," Hegseth said.

He took the greatest issue with several policy changes made when Bob Gates, a former Defense Secretary for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, served as president of the organization.

Hegseth made clear he questions other decisions that are not being rolled back, most notably allowing girls to become scouts. That change prompted the organization to rename itself from the Boy Scouts of America to Scouting America in 2024.

Related: Pete Buttigieg calls Pete Hegseth ‘unfit to lead’ after second bombshell Signal chat leak revelation

Related: Exclusion will be the norm in the military Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump want

“I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men,” Hegseth said. “Maybe someday.” Hegseth, who has banned transgender people from the armed forces, faced a number of controversies during his Senate confirmation, including prior opposition to women serving in combat roles and LGBTQ+ service members wearing a uniform at all.

The intolerance of transgender identity was just one of several conditions met by Scouting America, he said.

Other changes include eliminating DEI efforts within the organization, including discontinuing the Citizenship in Society merit badge, which pushed “activism” and respect for diversity. The organization will also create a Military Service merit badge.

“Scouting will also make clear that biological boys and girls will not be allowed to occupy or share intimate spaces together, toilets, showers, tents, anywhere like that,” Hegseth said.

Hegseth said that in six months, the Pentagon will review whether Scouting America has indeed complied with the department’s demands.