The Women, Peace and Security Program was developed in response to a law signed by Trump on October 6, 2017.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses on Tuesday announced that he would scrap the women’s leadership programme implemented during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The program is run by the United Nations and, according to the Secretary of Defense, “it is being pushed out by feminists and left-wing activists.”
“This morning, I proudly ended the “Women, Peace and Security” (WPS) program within the Department of Defense,” Hegses wrote in a statement from X.
Hegseth said that “politicians will faw” over the program, but the troops “dislike” it.
The WPS program was developed in response to the Women, Peace and Security Act that Trump signed into law on October 6, 2017. The Trump administration at the time recognized women as key agents of change in preventing and resolving conflicts, countering violent extremism, and building peace and stability.
The law, outlined by the UN Security Council and adopted as a resolution in 2000, has been defended for many years by various members of Parliament. The cause was addressed by the president’s daughter and former advisor, Ivanka Trump, after being signed into law.
In a June 2019 statement, Ivanka said that good defense policy requires female participation and empowerment. She also said women are “very underestimated in conflict resolution and post-conflict peacebuilding efforts,” saying women only make up 2% of mediators, 3% of military personnel and 9% of negotiators worldwide.
Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem co-hosted the WPS Act when he represented South Dakota in Congress.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.), who co-authored the 2017 bill with Sen at the time. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote to X that Hegseth’s latest move is “myopia.” She opposed Hegzes’s claim that the military hates the program, claiming it is supported by military leaders, proving strategic advantages to the country.
Amy McGrath, the first woman to fly a Marine Corps combat mission, claimed in a statement on the X that the program took women to the negotiation table to end conflicts around the world. McGrath added that if women are included there is likely a more sustainable peace.
Hegseth appeared to have pushed back criticism for the X move later on Tuesday. He doubled the decision to scrub the program, suggesting that the Biden administration “distorted and weaponized” the women’s initiative intended to be “straight and security-centric” after it was launched in 2017.
Tuesday’s announcement coincides with the Trump administration’s efforts to end the federal diversity initiative across the government. It is also consistent with government efficiency efforts to reduce government waste and abuse.
Hegseth declared that he “fights to end the program for the next budget.” The Pentagon did not provide specific details regarding the costs of the initiative.
