(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump announced he was firing the board of visitors of all U.S. military academies on Monday in his continued crusade against “leftist ideologues” in the military.
Trump cleaned out the board of visitors for the U.S. military academies, such as West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy and Air Force Academy effective Monday, according to an announcement on Truth Social. Trump campaigned in the 2024 election on reducing so-called “woke” politics in the military, saying he would create a task force specifically to root out diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
The video player is currently playing an ad.
“Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years. I have ordered the immediate dismissal of the Board of Visitors for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard,” Trump said on Truth Social. “We will have the strongest Military in History, and that begins by appointing new individuals to these Boards. We must make the Military Academies GREAT AGAIN!”
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gestures as he speaks during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (out of frame) at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on February 5, 2025. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
One fired member of the West Point board of visitors, Retired Lt. Gen. Nadja West, gave a speech at Mount St. Mary’s University in 2021 on how diversity leads to a “harmonious community.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also been a long-time critic of left-wing politics in the military, such as DEI initiatives and allowing transgenders in the military. Hegseth faced harsh criticism from Senate Democrats for his opinions on “woke” policies in the military.
The previous Biden administration introduced a slew of left-wing policies that were criticized for allegedly causing a drop in recruitment in recent years, such as investigations by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin into so-called “extremism” in the military, which allegedly targeted conservatives.
For example, the Navy paid for an active-duty sailor drag queen to drive recruitment on social media in 2023 through their Digital Ambassador program, which was promptly shut down after the Daily Caller News Foundation first broke the story in May 2023.
Moreover, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman C.Q. Brown issued a memorandum in 2022 that the Air Force was updating its racial and gender demographic goals for applicants seeking to become officers to prioritize “diversity and inclusion
A year-long study released in 2024 by the Arizona State University Center for American Institutions alleges that Biden’s multi-million dollar DEI policies and programs created a “race and sex-based scapegoating and stereotyping” environment in the military and hampered defense effectiveness.
The Naval Academy declined to comment, while West Point and the Air Force Academy deferred to the White House. The Coast Guard Academy and the White House did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
