May 10, 2025
Pentagon issued an order to review and pull all library materials that are related to diversity, anti-racism, and gender issues.
The Trump Administration has continued its attack on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), as the Pentagon recently issued an order to review and pull all library materials that are related to diversity, anti-racism, and gender issues before May 21.
A statement was released by the U.S. Department of Defense May 9 regarding the recently imposed deadline for the exclusion of the materials from military libraries.
“Military educational institutions, such as War Colleges and Military Service Academies, will preliminarily identify this content no later than May 21, 2025, then conduct a deliberate review to determine the final disposition of that content. A temporary Academic Libraries Committee consisting of knowledgeable leaders, educators, and library professionals across the Department will assist throughout that process,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell wrote in a written statement. “A preliminary review using Committee-developed criteria will identify materials requiring further evaluation. Throughout the process, all reviews will use a ‘viewpoint-neutral’ approach, using definitions laid out in Executive Order 14168, ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,’ and Executive Order 13950, ‘Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping.’
In April, the U.S. Naval Academy removed nearly 400 books from its library per instructions from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his office. They were told to review and discard books that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. Initially, a search identified approximately 900 books to be discarded, but it was lowered to 400 before Hegseth visited the academy on April 1.
The Trump administration has made this DEI initiative one of the cornerstones of the current administration, eliminating DEI content from federal agencies.
The books removed complied with Trump’s executive order titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” which the president issued in January. This order also includes military academies and includes phrases like “discriminatory equity ideology” and a reference to gender ideology as part of “the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.”
RELATED CONTENT: Naval Academy Removes 400 Books In Anti-DEI Purge
