Pete Hegseth says he will end a Trump-backed Pentagon program for women

Two Trump Cabinet secretaries — Kristi Noem and Marco Rubio — championed the bill that formed the program when they each served in Congress and that Trump signed into law.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that he will move to end a Department of Defense program for women created during and promoted by the first Trump administration.

The bill that established the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) program — a government-wide effort in the diplomatic and national security spaces to expand opportunities for women — was written by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when she served in the House and co-sponsored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he served in the Senate.

"WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING," wrote Hegseth, who has come under fire for saying that women shouldn't hold combat roles. He added that the program, which had wide bipartisan support in Congress, was "pushed by feminists and left-wing activists."

Follow live politics coverage here

Despite stating that he was ending the program, Hegseth said the department would have to execute the "minimum of WPS required by statute" and then "fight to end the program for our next budget."