
Hegseth orders service academies to ignore ‘race, ethnicity, or sex' in admissions
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commanded the nation's military academies Friday to stop considering 'race, ethnicity, or sex' in their admissions process, the latest blow by the Trump administration against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs at the Pentagon.
'The Military Service Academies (MSA) are elite warfighting institutions with long histories of producing world class military officers,' Hegseth wrote in the memo to senior Defense Department leadership.
'The Department owes it to our Nation, our Service members, and the young Americans applying to the MSAs to ensure admissions to these prestigious institutions are based exclusively on merit,' he added. 'This ensures only the most qualified candidates are admitted, trained, and ultimately commissioned to lead the finest fighting force in history.'
Advertisement
'Selecting anyone but the best erodes lethality, our warfighting readiness, and undercuts the culture of excellence in our Armed Forces.'
Hegseth argued that merit-based admissions will improve the military's 'lethality' and 'warfighting readiness.'
AFP via Getty Images
The directive – aligned with President Trump's January executive order promoting 'meritocracy and … the elimination of race-based and sex-based discrimination within the Armed Forces of the United States' – instructs military academies to 'apply no consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex' and 'offer admission based exclusively on merit' for the 2026 admissions cycle.
Advertisement
Hegseth notes that MSAs, such as the US Military Academy West Point, the US Naval Academy and the US Air Force Academy, may give weight to applicants with 'unique athletic talent or other experiences such as prior military service.'
'Going forward, MSAs shall rank-order candidates by merit-based scores,' the Pentagon chief said, explaining that the Department of Defense expects only the highest-ranking candidates to receive appointments.
'The Department must remain steadfast in its pursuit of excellence and never compromise the high standards at our MSAs,' Hegseth continued. 'A strong officer corps is essential to ensuring the United States military remains the most lethal the world has ever known.'
The nation's military academies were exempted from a 2023 Supreme Court ruling outlawing affirmative action in college admissions.
Getty Images
Advertisement
In 2023, the Supreme Court outlawed the overt consideration of race in higher education admissions in a landmark ruling which struck down affirmative action programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina.
The high court's ruling, however, specifically exempted America's military academies.
Under the Biden administration, West Point faced accusations of setting benchmarks for how many black, Hispanic and Asian cadets the institution should admit in each class — discriminating against white applicants in the process.
In 2023, West Point touted that minority enrollment in its class of 2027 was roughly 38%, with approximately 14% of the intake Asian American, 11% Hispanic, 10% black, and 1% Native American.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


UPI
17 minutes ago
- UPI
Australia awaits American decision on AUKUS nuclear submarine pact
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego, Calif. in March of 2023. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo June 12 (UPI) -- Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles announced Thursday he feels that the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal which connects with the United Kingdom and United States, will continue after the Trump administration reviews the pact. "I am very confident this is going to happen," he told ABC News, as he believes AUKUS is of strategic interest to all three nations. The Pentagon has expressed that the 2021 deal is being reassessed to make sure it's a fit with President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda before he meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the G7 summit taking place in Canada next week. U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also had met with Marles, who is also Australia's Minister for Defense, earlier this month and recommended Australia increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of its GDP. Albanese said in a press conference Tuesday that he thinks "that Australia should decide what we spend on Australia's defense" when asked about a defense spending boost, while not directly addressing if he would risk losing the AUKUS deal over that decision as questioned. The Pentagon review is being led by U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, who in the past has been critical of the deal made under the Biden administration to arm Australia with nuclear subs that use advanced American and British technology. "In principle it's a great idea," Colby posted to X about AUKUS in August of 2024," but added he's "agnostic" about the program. However, Colby also posted that day he was "convinced we should focus on Asia, readying for a war with China" in order to avoid it. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian announced Thursday in a press conference when asked about his nation's opinion on the possibility of an end to AUKUS that China opposes "manufacturing bloc confrontation and anything that amplifies the risk of nuclear proliferation and exacerbates arms race."
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state
FIRST ON FOX: Aaron Reitz, a top official in President Donald Trump's Department of Justice, has resigned his post in the administration to run for attorney general of Texas, entering what he is calling a "fight for the soul of Texas." Reitz, a former Marine and chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, served in the Trump administration under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy. Following speculation of a possible run for Texas attorney general, one of the most powerful positions in the state, Reitz resigned his position with the DOJ on Wednesday and officially launched his campaign the day after. "If we lose Texas, we lose the Republic," Reitz said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. 205 Arrested In Fbi Child Sex Operation, Patel And Bondi Announce "This is no time for half-measures or untested cowards," he said, adding, "We are in a fight for the soul of Texas, our nation, and Western civilization itself." Read On The Fox News App "As Attorney General, I'll use every ounce of legal firepower to defend President Trump, crush the radical Left, advance the America and Texas First agenda, and look out for everyday Texans," he said. This comes as current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running in hopes of replacing incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in one of the most hotly contested primary races of the year. Reitz pledged to partner with the Trump administration to "clean up the border catastrophe with mass deportations and enhanced border security, take down the Soros-backed district attorneys, obliterate woke indoctrination, expose and root out election fraud, and defend our Constitutional rights without apology." John Cornyn Scores Tim Scott Endorsement, But John Rich Calls Cornyn 'The Lindsey Graham Of Texas' Reitz touted his conservative bona fides, saying, "I've spent my entire career in the trenches with the toughest conservatives in America." He is likely to garner endorsements from some of the country's leading Republicans, with DOJ officials, including Bondi, giving him a string of fond farewells after he announced his departure. In an X post Bondi said: "I'm proud to have worked with @aaron_reitz at @TheJusticeDept. Aaron played a central role in our work to Make America Safe Again — his next chapter will surely contribute to @POTUS's mission, and I look forward to seeing what Aaron does next in his home state of Texas!" FBI Director Kash Patel also chimed in, saying "Aaron is a personal friend, great American, and a relentless advocate for law and order. Thanks for serving our country, now it's time to deliver on his next mission. Good luck." Bondi Announces One Of Largest Fentanyl Seizures In Us History Before serving in the Trump administration and on Cruz's staff, Reitz previously held the position of Texas Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy under Paxton. In December, Paxton spoke very highly of Reitz, saying, "he's a proven and effective fighter for our Constitution and American Values" who was "our 'offensive coordinator' leading my very aggressive Texas-v-Biden docket." Paxton said that while working in his office Reitz "spearheaded some of our agency's most consequential actions on border security, immigration, Big Tech, Covid, energy, the environment, and election integrity." Texas Republican state Senator Mayes Middleton, another pro-Trump conservative, is also running for attorney article source: FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state

E&E News
21 minutes ago
- E&E News
Businesses to lawmakers: Don't mess with Energy Star
Business groups are urging Congress to resist Trump administration efforts to privatize Energy Star, the efficiency program for home appliances and building materials. 'Clear legislative authorization backs ENERGY STAR as a voluntary public-private partnership run by the federal government,' more than 30 trade groups said Wednesday in a letter to lawmakers. 'We respectfully request that ENERGY STAR not be supplanted by non-governmental efforts that could significantly alter and overly complicate the program.' Led by the Real Estate Roundtable, the letter was signed by the National Association of Manufacturers; American Chemistry Council; Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers; Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute; and other groups. Advertisement The letter went to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) and ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito ( and ranking member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky) and ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.)