On February 27, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense will “conditionally continue to provide support to Scouting America” after the organization agreed to discontinue programs and policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. This is in accordance with President Trump’s January 21, 2025, executive order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
Among the changes Hegseth outlined in the video posted on the DoD website are the removal of the Citizenship in Society merit badge, in which scouts learn strong, ethical leadership and how to be accepting and tolerant of anyone, regardless of their identity. The badge also encouraged scouts to connect with other people their age who were different from them and taught how to recognize and stand up against prejudice and discrimination. This badge was recently introduced in 2021 and was a requirement for all scouts who achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. However, it is no longer option unless scouts have already begun to complete the requirements, in which case they have the rest of the year to finish.
Hegseth also said that Scouting America will have to introduce a Military Service merit badge, but, as of March 15, no more details have been announced about the badge or the specific content that it will cover.
Hegseth stated that Scouting America will modify its policy so that membership is based on biological sex rather than gender identity, and any application will only have male and female sex designations that must match the applicants’ birth certificate.
Scouting America has since claimed that their policy on transgender members would not be changing. President and Chief Executive of Scouting America, Roger Krone, told Associated Press, “We have transgender people in our program and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward.”
Scouting America will also waive registration fees for the children of active duty, guard and reserve families in America’s military as part of the agreement.
Hegseth added at the end of his statement, “Our support for Scouting America is contingent on them making substantial progress … in the next six months. At that time, we’ll vigorously review progress and decide whether or not to continue our support.”
Throughout the video, Hegseth criticized changes Scouting America has made in past years to become more tolerant and inclusive. He claimed the organization “lost their way” and expressed his dissatisfaction, saying, “The name was changed to Scouting America. Girls were accepted. The focus on God as the ruler of the universe was watered down to include openness to humanism and Earth-centered pagan religions.”
He also stated that they welcomed “the destructive myth of gender fluidity and transgenderism.”
Hegseth blamed these changes, which he described as “an insidious, radical woke ideology that is anti-America and anti-American,” for the drop in membership and the subsequent file for bankruptcy by Scouting America in 2020.
In reality, the decline can be credited to the Covid-19 lockdown and the withdrawal of the Mormon Church, which automatically registered all eligible boys and made up about 20% of the organization’s membership going into the year 2020. Scouting America also filed for bankruptcy following a $2.46 billion sexual abuse settlement.
Near the end of his statement, Hegseth added, “Ideally, I believe the Boy Scouts should go back to being the Boy Scouts, as originally founded, a group that develops boys into men, maybe someday.”
