Scouting America to end gender ideology policies, Hegseth says

Scouting America, the organization formerly known as Boy Scouts of America, has agreed to make several reforms, including classifying members based on biological sex, at the request of the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday. The organization will not allow opposite sexes to share intimate spaces, such as tents, he said. It has also pledged to walk back so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in compliance with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, he said. Leaders also committed to waive fees for children of military families and introduce a military service merit badge, Hegseth said.

Scouting America changed its name in 2025 to reflect its coed programs and allowance of alternate gender identities. It began admitting openly homosexual members in 2013 and homosexual troop leaders soon afterward. Hegseth did not specify whether that policy would end. But he said the Defense Department would end support for Scouting America if it did not make clear progress toward the agreed-upon reforms in the next six months. While the department doesn’t directly fund the Scouts, it currently hosts Scout troops on many of its bases and gives pay raises to Eagle Scouts in the military.

Hegseth also said other youth organizations, such as Trail Life USA and Awana Clubs, pursued similar goals and were already compliant with the executive order. The Defense Department might eventually support those groups as well, he said.

What else did Hegseth say about the Pentagon’s motivation for pushing the changes? Scouting America formerly prepared millions of boys to make moral choices throughout their lives, Hegseth said. Many Scouts went on to become high-ranking members of the military or government, and six became presidents, he said. But the Scouts lost their way after 2012, Hegseth said. He criticized the organization’s decisions to admit girls, shift focus away from the Christian faith, and adopt gender ideology. He added that he hoped it would one day shift back to only admitting boys. Those changes caused Scouts membership to drop from 10 million in the 1970s to less than 1 million today, he said.

At least 82,000 abuse claims have been filed against the Scouts organization in recent years.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s story on the Scouts’ name change.