Hegseth announces he’s ending Pentagon involvement in Trump initiative empowering women championed by Ivanka Trump and Rubio

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday helium was ending the Defense Department’s Women, Peace and Security program, which helium termed a “Biden initiative” and that was enacted by President Donald Trump successful his archetypal term, championed by his girl Ivanka Trump and based connected a instrumentality co-sponsored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio erstwhile helium was a subordinate of the Senate.

Experts accidental the determination volition person important consequences for women successful the subject and the US military’s goals abroad.

“This morning, I proudly ENDED the “Women, Peace & Security” (WPS) programme wrong the @DeptofDefense. WPS is yet different woke divisive/social justice/Biden inaugural that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our halfway task: WAR-FIGHTING,” Hegseth posted.

“WPS is simply a UNITED NATIONS programme pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn implicit it; troops HATE it. DoD volition hereby enforcement the minimum of WPS required by statute, and combat to extremity the programme for our adjacent budget. GOOD RIDDANCE WPS!”

Hegseth aboriginal appeared to back-track, saying successful a follow-up station that the inaugural “straight-forward & security-focused” successful 2017, but was “RUINED” by erstwhile President Joe Biden.

Rubio seemed to person a precise antithetic presumption connected the programme recently, touting his engagement astatine the International Women of Courage Awards earlier this month.

“President Trump besides signed the Women, Peace, and Security Act, a measure that I was precise arrogant to person been a co-sponsor of erstwhile I was successful the Senate, and it was the archetypal broad instrumentality passed successful immoderate state successful the satellite – the archetypal instrumentality passed by immoderate state anyplace successful the satellite – focused connected protecting women and promoting their information successful society,” Rubio said connected April 1.

Ivanka Trump lauded the inaugural successful 2019, saying she was “proud to announce” that Colombia would besides make a WPS National Action Plan.

“@POTUS signed into instrumentality Women, Peace and Security, making the United States the 1st state successful the satellite to enact #WPS legislation,” she said successful a tweet successful 2019.

It remains unclear however the programme volition end, fixed Hegseth besides acknowledged the Pentagon would proceed enacting “the minimum of WPS required by statute.” But, Kathleen McInnis, a elder chap astatine the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who has studied the intersection of sex and nationalist security, described Hegseth’s determination arsenic “bizarre,” peculiarly his declaration that WPS is simply a “woke… -Biden initiative.”

“This is huge,” McInnis said of the interaction of ending the Pentagon’s information successful WPS. “I mean ultimately, this is going to person a large bearing connected whether oregon not the United States is capable to enlistee and clasp a subject unit that’s susceptible of warring and winning the nation’s wars. That’s however large a woody this is. If the aboriginal of the unit looks progressively female, eliminating the Women, Peace, and Security toolkit is not going to assistance america enlistee and clasp the unit we need. End of story.”

‘This is Trump 45 policy’

“This is Trump 45 policy,” she said. “This is his law. And we’ve learned done its implementation however overmuch much effectual it tin marque the force.”

Trump signed the Women, Peace, and Security Act successful 2017, recognizing the “meaningful information of women successful struggle prevention and struggle solution processes.” CNN antecedently reported that Trump’s girl and erstwhile elder adviser, Ivanka, spearheaded the policy. In practice, the WPS Act has helped the US prosecute with cardinal allies and partners astir the globe and “build bridges and connections that are necessary, earlier a struggle kicks off,” McInnis said.

McInnis added that portion WPS started arsenic a United Nations initiative, “that’s not wherefore the US has implemented it.” She pointed backmost to the enactment from Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz successful 2017. Indeed, Waltz was the co-chair of the Women, Peace, and Security Caucus arsenic precocious arsenic 2023. And Rubio noted successful 2019 that women “play a cardinal role” successful security.

“If 50% of your colonisation is near retired of bid processes and is near retired of cardinal enactment and determination making roles, you are mounting yourself up for failure,” Rubio said.

Current Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sponsored the measure enacting the inaugural erstwhile she was a subordinate of the House successful 2017.

CNN has asked the Pentagon and White House for comment. A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump did not instantly respond to CNN’s petition for comment.

Kyleanne Hunter, a Marine Corps seasoned and nationalist information expert, said WPS has been “an indispensable lynchpin” for however the US subject engages with its allies, and Hegseth’s comments volition spark interest implicit however that enactment could continue

“I deliberation it shows a existent misunderstanding … that this was astir putting women successful places wherever women aren’t expected to be, which is nonsense,” Hunter said. “There’s zero grounds that that has really happened.”

The programme besides influenced things similar women’s assemblage armor successful the military, ensuring they person armor that fits appropriately, she explained. It has ensured women tin entree the wellness attraction they request successful the subject steadfast system, and “that the strategy takes into relationship women’s needs and women’s perspectives successful the improvement of unit policy, equipment, material, each of the things crossed the spectrum.”

That could beryllium peculiarly important fixed the progressively precocious rates astatine which women are joining the military. A 2023 demographics study from the Pentagon showed that the percent of women joining the enlisted and serviceman ranks has continued to grow. The 2023 study showed 17.7% of active-duty troops are women, and 21.9% of Reserve work members are women.

Over the past decade, women person been “more and much recruitable.” The WPS programme has played a portion successful influencing everything from the acquisition of craft to guarantee the cockpits are capable for pistillate pilots arsenic good arsenic antheral pilots to the military’s parental permission policy, Hunter said.

Though it’s unclear what applicable interaction Hegseth’s determination volition person — it could awesome to women considering a relation successful the subject and broader nationalist information apparatus passim authorities that they won’t beryllium valued, Hunter said.

“These aren’t woke policies that person harmed anybody,” she said. “This is recognizing that to get a precocious caliber of warfighters, we request to guarantee they’re supported. … If I were an 18- to 26-year-old pistillate who was considering the subject oregon thing successful the nationalist information endeavor arsenic a vocation field, I’d beryllium taking immoderate truly beardown 2nd looks close now.”

CNN’s Kit Maher and Betsy Klein contributed.

For much CNN quality and newsletters make an relationship astatine CNN.com