Hegseth announces Scouting America, previously known as Boy Scouts of America, to end all DEI initiatives

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the youth organization Scouting America has made a "commitment to pull all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from its program."

Hegseth said the agreement from Scouting America came after he considered pulling all military support from the 116-year-old organization. Scouting America was previously known as the Boy Scouts of America, but changed its name in February 2025, seven years after the organization dropped the word 'Boy' from its official name. The name change was meant to be more inclusive, the organization said last year. Hegseth said Scouting America has become "an organization that no longer supported and celebrated boys."

"I was very seriously considering ending our support of Scouting altogether," Hegseth said in a video posted on X announcing the deal. "But, before making this big change, I decided to meet with the current scouting leadership to convey our deep concerns," he said, noting that the group's leaders committed to making "key reforms."

Among those reforms will be the elimination of all DEI terminology from Scouting America's programs and written materials, and a badge that required Scouts to "realize the benefits of diversity, equity, inclusion and ethical leadership" will be replaced by a new military service merit badge. 

Moreover, the application for the organization will be based on a child's sex rather than a gender interpretation. "That means that the application, any application, will have only two sex designations: male and female. And the application must match the applicant's birth certificate," Hegseth said. Historically, Congress has required the U.S. military to provide various levels of support for the group since its founding in 1910, including for its flagship event, the National Jamboree.

As for a return to its previous name, that remains to be seen.

"Ideally, 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, also pointing out that the deal was contingent "substantial progress" in achieving the agreed-upon goals.

Watch Hegseth's announcement below and read more about it here.