Leaders of nonprofits that have advocated for stronger polices to bolster diversity in the military and keep extremists out of the ranks are now concerned that President-elect Donald Trump and his pick for defense secretary will quickly work to undo those measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump announced Nov. 12 he intended to nominate Army veteran and conservative commentator Pete Hegseth<\/a> <\/a>as his next secretary of defense. Hegseth has compared the Pentagon\u2019s extremism policies to a \u201cpurge,\u201d said he wants to fire \u201cwoke\u201d military leaders and doesn\u2019t believe women should serve in combat roles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Members of Protect our Defenders and Human Rights First have advocated for stronger diversity and anti-extremism policies within the Defense Department, such as required training for troops about prohibited extremist activities and gender-affirming health care for service members. Now, they expect that Trump and Hegseth will work with their allies in Congress to roll back those policies and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe individual who President-clect Trump has tapped to be the next Secretary of Defense \u2013 it seems like he\u2019s very much trying to unwind those policies,\u201d said Josh Connolly, senior vice president of Protect Our Defenders. \u201cIt seems like he has a very clear bias to dismantle efforts to address these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t