It took real nerve to turn the Boy Scouts into a testing ground for every cultural fad of the last decade, then act shocked when families started walking away.
Yet that’s exactly what happened. For years, progressive activists cheered as the Boy Scouts of America opened Cub Scouts and BSA to girls in 2018, then rebranded as Scouting America in 2024.
Leaders of the movement layered on diversity, equity, and inclusion, while rolling out the “Citizenship in Society” merit badge to reinforce it.
The reaction showed a stark difference: overwhelming applause from the left, but consequences felt much deeper.
Membership had already fallen from its historic highs over the past decade, dropping well below two million by 2019. Financial strain and cultural controversy compounded each other; many parents didn’t sign their sons up for scouting to watch adult leaders test gender ideology. They signed up for camping, knots, discipline, leadership, and service.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stepped in after a Pentagon review of federally connected programs. President Donald Trump’s executive orders restricting DEI initiatives within federal agencies set the framework.
Hegseth made clear that organizations partnering with the Department of War must align with federal policy, including youth groups operating on military bases and participating in joint programs, in a video statement released Friday:
🚨 BREAKING: SecWar Pete Hegseth reveals that after IMMENSE pressure, Scouting America — formerly the Boy Scouts — has CAVED to demands they go back to separating males and females in showers, tents and intimate spaces
They’re also OVERTURNING woke, DEI policies
BOOM! This is… pic.twitter.com/ypCApR06mX
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 27, 2026
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that access to bases and long-standing cooperation wouldn’t continue under policies that conflicted with federal directives. That partnership stretches back more than a century, and losing it would’ve been a devastating blow to Scouting America.
Under the new agreement, Scouting America will remove DEI language from official materials, eliminate the Citizenship in Society merit badge, base distinctions on biological sex as listed at birth, and require applications to reflect male and female categories.
Activities on military property will follow separation rules for restrooms, cabins, tents, and showers. A new military service merit badge is planned, and certain fees for children of active duty service members will be waived.
Guess what happened next?
Critics objected immediately. Advocacy groups argued the change harms transgender youth, describing Hegseth and Trump as heavy-handed. Some framed the move as political interference in a private organization, an argument overlooking one key fact: Federal partnerships come with federal conditions. When a group wants access to Pentagon facilities and programs, it accepts oversight tied to national policy.
Hegseth’s other anti-DEI efforts have ranged from ending all military training at “woke” Harvard to claiming that the independent military newspaper Stars and Stripes will no longer include “woke distractions.” He rolled out the move with Scouting America on Friday as tensions have escalated with Iran and the Trump administration considers possible military action after massing the largest force of U.S. warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades.
The Pentagon said earlier this month that it was reviewing its relationship with Scouting America, claiming it had “lost its way” in many ways and calling the organization’s DEI efforts “unacceptable.”
“Scouting America’s leadership has made decisions that run counter to the values of this administration,” the Feb. 6 statement said, “including an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances.”
Before veering left, Scouting leaders faced intense activist pressure to expand gender policies and emphasize identity-based programming, while also facing criticism from longtime supporters who believed those moves diluted the mission. Removing Boy from the organization’s name symbolized a broader cultural pivot.
Since becoming DOW secretary, Hegseth has applied similar standards within the Pentagon itself, removing senior officials involved in DEI initiatives and stressing readiness, merit, and mission clarity. Scouting America’s decision to meet those standards fits that approach, Hegseth argued. Federal institutions should focus on unity and competence, not social experiments.
It’s hard to ignore the irony: Activists once celebrated woke changes as moral progress. Now, the same crowd treats a return to basic biology and structure as cruelty.
The Boy Scouts existed for over 100 years without DEI seminars, producing generations of leaders, service members, and community volunteers.
Scouting America now has a chance to rebuild credibility and stabilize its future. Families who drifted away may take a second look: Confidence in youth programs suffers when adult politics dominate.
Clear standards and a defined goal restore stability.
Hegseth didn’t shout: He set terms. Scouting America chose to remain aligned with the Pentagon rather than continue down a divisive path.
That decision may mark the start of a long-overdue reset, and not just with the Boy Scouts.
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