Investigating claim of Colin Powell's name being removed from Arlington Cemetery website
A rumor that circulated online in March 2025 claimed U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth oversaw the removal of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's name from a list of noteworthy military figures hosted on the Arlington National Cemetery website. Social media users discussed this matter in the days after the removal of links to pages about Black, Hispanic and female veterans buried at the site, among other Department of Defense removals.
The Office of Army Cemeteries, a division of the U.S. Army, operates the prominent military cemetery just outside Washington. The Army and other military branches report to the DOD.
For example, one X user wrote (archived) on March 20, "Pete Hegseth removed Colin Powell's name from a list of notable Americans, buried at Arlington. Hegseth also removed the names of every person of color and every woman on the same list. Only white men were left in place." Additional X users shared the rumor about Hegseth, who is white, and Powell, who was Black and died in 2021. Users also promoted the claim on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and TikTok.
However, as of March 21, the cemetery website's page titled "prominent military figures" still featured a brief biography describing Powell's military service, in which he achieved the rank of a four-star Army general. Even so, while neither Hegseth nor anyone under the umbrella of the Defense Department entirely deleted Powell's name from the page, some biographical information pertaining to Powell's race was removed, as well as one mention of Powell's name from the biography of another noteworthy service member.
The remainder of the rumor claiming "Hegseth removed the names of every person of color and every woman," and that "only white men were left in place," was not entirely true.
In an email, Kerry L. Meeker, the chief of public affairs at Arlington National Cemetery, labeled the claim that someone removed Powell's name from the website "inaccurate." "All notable graves are represented on our website – including Colin Powell," she said.
She pointed us to a statement on the cemetery's website that mentioned "no service members have been permanently removed from the 'notable graves' section of our website." The statement also referenced "compliance with executive orders issued by the president and Department of Defense instructions."
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, seeking to end "illegal" programs and activities related to diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as DEIA, with the "A" standing for accessibility. The order targeted DEIA-related "mandates, policies, programs, preferences and activities in the federal government, under whatever name they appear."
An archived version of the Arlington National Cemetery website's "prominent military figures" page from late February 2025 displayed Powell's biography beginning with the sentence, "General Colin Powell, a Vietnam veteran, was the first African American to hold three of the U.S. government's highest positions: national security adviser (1987-1989), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), and secretary of state (2001-2005)."
By early March, another archived version of the page confirmed the removal of the fact that Powell was the first African American to hold the three positions.
Between February and March, another edit removed a mention of Powell's name in the biography for Brig. Gen. Roscoe Conklin "Rock" Cartwright. The late-February version featured a sentence entirely removed from the page, reading, "Cartwright founded a social group that provided mentoring and leadership training to African American officers; prominent members included Generals Colin Powell (Section 60) and Roscoe Robinson Jr. (Section 7A)."
Colin Powell receives the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George H.W. Bush at the White House on July 3, 1991. (Howard L. Sachs/CNP/Getty Images)
Other removals from the "prominent military figures" page included 17 mentions of "African American," around a dozen for "black" and one for "Irish American." Many of the mentions of "African American" and "black" described milestones, such as Brig. Gen. Hazel W. Johnson-Brown, originally documented on the page as "the first African American woman general in the U.S. Army."
The biography for Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee originally began by describing him as "the first Asian American officer in the Marine Corps." As of March 21, that fact, as well as the words "Asian American," no longer appeared on the page. The most recent version of his biography also removed the following sentence featured in previous years: "Kurt Chew-Een Lee's record of service not only honored his country, but also demolished anti-Asian stereotypes: 'I wanted to dispel the notion about the Chinese being meek, bland and obsequious,' he told the Los Angeles Times in 2010."
In an apparent oversight in the removal process of race-related content, the page still displayed Lt. Col. Alexander T. Augusta of the U.S. Army as "the highest-ranking African American officer of the Civil War," as well as "the Army's first black physician, the United States' first black hospital administrator (Freedman's Hospital, Washington, D.C.) and its first black professor of medicine (Howard University)."
After we asked Meeker about the removals from Lee's biography about demolishing anti-Asian stereotypes and the fact Augusta's biography still featured four mentions of his race, Arlington National Cemetery spokeswoman Becky Wardwell provided a link to a video from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. In the March 20 video, Parnell said, in part, "We want to be very clear, history is not DEI." He also discussed making mistakes and mentioned the usage of artificial intelligence to perform some content edits to comply with the Trump administration's orders.
Parnell's mention of errors possibly at least partially referenced the removal, and later restoration, of entries for three women on the "prominent military figures" page. Those women were Lt. Cmdr. Barbara Allen Rainey, "the first woman pilot in the Navy," Maj. Marie Therese Rossi, "the first American female combat commander to fly into battle" during the Persian Gulf War, and Lt. Kara Spears Hultgreen, "the first female carrier-based fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy, and the first woman to qualify as an F-14 combat pilot."
All three women disappeared from the cemetery website's page in late February or early March, and reappeared sometime between March 17 and 21, according to archived page captures.
Burns, Robert, et al. "Colin Powell Dies, Trailblazing General Stained by Iraq." The Associated Press, 19 Oct. 2021, https://apnews.com/article/colin-powell-dead-covid-9c918dc1c137ebf368f2cbb461e4fad4.
Christensen, Laerke. "Arlington National Cemetery Removed Links to Webpages about Black, Hispanic and Female Veterans." Snopes, 14 Mar. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/arlington-national-cemetery-veterans/.
"Colin Powell | Biography & Facts." Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Colin-Powell.
"Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing." The White House, 20 Jan. 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/.
"Learn More about Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)." New York Department of State, https://dos.ny.gov/dei.
"Organization." The United States Army, https://www.army.mil/organization/.
"Our Cemeteries." Office of Army Secretaries, https://armycemeteries.army.mil/About-Us/Our-Cemeteries.
"Wayback Machine." Archive.org, https://web.archive.org/.
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CLICKER — 'The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics,' edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS: — 'A Bizarre PTSD Therapy 'Seemed Too Good to Be True,'' by The Atlantic's Yasmin Tayag: 'What if overcoming trauma can be painless?' — 'The War on Trees,' by Foreign Affairs' Justyna Gudzowska and Laura Ferris: 'How illegal logging funds cartels, terrorists, and rogue regimes.' — 'How Tech Company Recruiters Sidestep Trump's Immigration Crackdown' by ProPublica's Alec MacGillis: 'I had entered one of the most overlooked yet consequential corners of the United States immigration system: the process by which employers sponsor tech workers with temporary H-1B visas as a first step to getting them the green card that entitles them to permanent residency in the U.S.' — 'How measles tore through a remote West Texas city,' by NBC News' Brandy Zadrozny: 'Anti-vaccine activists seized on a deadly outbreak in Seminole, setting off a battle between fringe doctors and mainstream medicine.' — 'Musket vs. AR-15: Judges Are Throwing Out Gun Restrictions Because of Antiquated Laws From America's Founding,' by Chip Brownlee for The Trace: 'A 2022 Supreme Court decision that gun laws should align with the nation's 'history and tradition' has sown confusion in courtrooms and weakened longstanding limits on firearms.' — 'A Professor Was Fired for Her Politics. Is That the Future of Academia?' by Sarah Viren for NYT Mag: 'Maura Finkelstein is one of many scholars discovering that the traditional protections of academic freedom are no longer holding.' TALK OF THE TOWN OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED yesterday morning at the Swiss ambassador's residence in D.C. for a gathering of the intellectual community in which Matt Kaminski moderated a conversation on China, AI and Europe: Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), David Petraeus, Mike Gallagher, Rolf Dobelli, Corinna Hoyer, Ralph Büchi, Anne Neuberger, Julius Genachowski, Paul Nakasone, Heather Podesta, Juleanna Glover, Alan Fleischmann and Dafna Tapiero, Dmitri Alperovitch, Bruce Andrews, Anne Brady Perron, Sheel Tyle, Mark Vlasic, Jonathan Silver, Tomicah Tillemann, Raj Kumar, Ed Luce, Gary Knell, Afsaneh Beschloss, David Bohigian, Doug Rediker and Heidi Crebo-Rediker, Peter Cherukuri, David Feith and Amy Dacey. — SPOTTED last night at Elephant and Castle at Article III Project's 'Bold and Fearless Judges' event hosted by Mike Davis, who did a hit on Fox News in the middle of the event, and Otto Heck: Todd Blanche, David Warrington, Harmeet Dhillon, Andrew Ferguson, Emil Bove, Michael Thielen, Mia Heck, Ryan Giles, Lanny Davis, Gene Hamilton, Gary Lawkowski, Mark Paoletta, Steve Kenny, Gineen Bresso, Bill McGinley, Tom DeMatteo, Stanley Woodward, Patrick Davis, Lee Holmes, Kat Nikas, Aakash Singh, Sam Adkisson, Gates McGavick, Chad Gilmartin, Don McGahn, Terry and Katie Schilling, Bill and Katie Lane, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves and Ted Groves, Arthur Schwartz, Jessie Jane Duff, Derek and Liz Lyons, Derrick Anderson, Megan Owen, Alida Kass, Graziella Pastor, Stuart McCommas, Brendan Chestnut, Dan Burrows, Kenny Cunningham, Jeff Clark, Lee Holmes, John Bachman, Mike Carter and Alex Swoyer. — SPOTTED at the Picnic Theatre Company's performance of 'Heaven Can Wait' at Tudor Place last night: Steve Rochlin, Christina Sevilla, Sara Cook, Bruce Kieloch, David White, Kimball Stroud, Michael Isikoff, Mary Ann Akers, David Corn, Amy Argetsinger, Indira Lakshmanan, Raquel Krahenbuhl, Riikka Hietajarvi, Nancy Bagley, Soroush Shehabi, Erica Payne, Gene Haigh, Julia Cohen, Neil Barrett, Puru Trivedi, Nova Daly, Kevin Rooney, Antonio Olivo, Amirah Sequeira, Chris Fowler, Alexa Newlin, Jennifer Grinspoon, Daniela McInerne, Dan Burrows and Hugo Verges. TRANSITION — Damian Williams is joining Jenner & Block as partner. He previously was at Paul Weiss and is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. More from WaPo HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M) … former VP Mike Pence … Wendy Sherman … Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey … Netflix's Adonna Biel … SKDK's Stephanie Reichin ... Myra Adams … Christina Animashaun … FGS Global's Lars Anderson … Covington & Burling's Dan Erikson … former Reps. Alex Mooney ( and Susan Wild (D-Pa.) … Paul Kelly of the Livingston Group … retired Coast Guard Vice Adm. Brian Peterman … Jerry White … Nathasha Lim Symanski … Chrissy Barry of the House Homeland Security counterterrorism subcommittee … Microsoft's Kaitlin Kirshner Haskins … Jessie D'Angelo … Haley Dorgan … Elizabeth Thorp … Chris Ortman … Javier de Diego … KHQ's Bradley Warren … Dave Abrams THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): POLITICO 'The Conversation with Dasha Burns': Rahm Emanuel. ABC 'This Week': Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy … House Speaker Mike Johnson. Panel: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile and Reince Priebus Fox News 'Sunday Morning Futures': Interior Secretary Doug Burgum … Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) … Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) … Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). CNN 'State of the Union': Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) … Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). Panel: Bakari Sellers, Xochitl Hinojosa, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.). MSNBC 'The Weekend: Primetime': Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) … New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani … South Carolina State Rep. Keishan Scott. NBC 'Meet the Press': Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) … Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) … Olivia Munn. Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, Sara Fagen, Symone Sanders Townsend and Melanie Zanona. CBS 'Face the Nation': Kevin Hassett … Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) … Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texa) … Janti Soeripto … Anthony Salvanto. NewsNation 'The Hill Sunday,' guest-anchored by Blake Burman: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) … Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) … Neil Bradley. Panel: Kellie Meyer, Tyler Pager, Jason Willick and John Tamny. FOX 'Fox News Sunday': Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) … Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). Panel: Mary Katharine Ham, Josh Kraushaar, Marc Thiessen and Juan Williams. CNN 'Inside Politics Sunday': Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.). Panel: Astead Herndon, Olivia Beavers and Jeff Mason. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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UnidosUS comes to KC for listening session with city, business and community leaders
A group of national Hispanic leaders met in Kansas City this week for a listening session with city legislators and local business leaders. There's a lot for this community to be worried about lately — news stories paint an anxious picture of changing immigration policies. Still, the tone was surprisingly upbeat. When asked what word they would use to describe how they felt Thursday morning at the Mattie Rhodes Cultural Center, words such as 'hopeful,' 'proud' and 'gratitude' were spoken. Only one 'uncertain' surfaced among the rest. Perhaps it's because this is a community that supports and uplifts each other because in these times it feels like that's all you can do. UnidosUS seeks to do more. The nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization has planned several of these listening sessions around the country with the goal of understanding concerns facing local residents. Headed by Kansas City, Kansas, native Janet Murguia, the organization seeks to close gaps and barriers facing Latinos. 'As we hear from our community, as we understand the challenges that our community is facing, it informs us even further with a level of authenticity that will give us strength to advance solutions,' she said. KC wasn't the first stop on this multicity listening tour, but in some ways, it was the most important. The UnidosUS national convention is in Kansas City this year, and Thursday's event was another opportunity to shine a spotlight on Murguia's hometown. After coffee, breakfast and the positive start, Murguia and Unidos/US Senior vice president for policy Eric Rodriguez offered some sober realities: 'To be honest, there's a shifting political landscape right now, and we're facing some tough headwinds. We've made it very clear that we are going to do everything we can to protect and defend our community,' Murguia said. The fears are real. Just this week, Kansas City's migrants, like others around the country, have found ICE officers waiting after court appointments. And in Massachusetts, a student on his way to volleyball practice was arrested by ICE and later released. Murguia and UnidosUS representatives spent two hours meeting with Kansas City leaders. Among the city, community and business representatives were John Fierro, President and CEO of the Mattie Rhodes Center, Kansas City Councilman Crispin Rea, Jaime Guillen, who leads KC's Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Department and Raytown Alderman Theresa Garza, among many others. The Beacons of Change annual conference comes to Kansas City August 5-7.
