It’s no secret that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth staunchly opposes left-wing political values such as diversity, equity, and inclusion and gender ideology.
Since Hegseth took office, he has made it a point to remove such policies from the military. On Sunday, Hegseth took another step in distancing the Department of Defense from the ideologies and policies of the previous administration. While replying to a social media post on X by CNN’s Haley Britzky, the head of the Pentagon made it known where he and the DOD stand on climate change, calling it “crap” and saying it is not going to be included in his agenda.
“In response to a list of questions from CNN about military readiness as it relates to climate programs, Pentagon Spox John Ullyot said ‘Climate zealotry and other woke chimeras of the Left are not part’ of DOD’s mission,” Britzky posted.
“John is, of course, correct,” Hegseth replied. “The @DeptofDefense does not do climate change crap. We do training and warfighting.”
Hegseth’s comment came after Britzky reported on the Trump administration’s intentions to eliminate climate change initiatives and policies at the DOD. Such programs will no longer be part of the DOD’s objectives under Hegseth.
“The DOD and DOGE have said they plan to cut climate programs in the Pentagon — but officials & experts are warning that climate efforts at DOD are directly linked to military readiness, and say cuts could put troops and military operations at risk,” Britzky said in an earlier post on X on Sunday.
DOGE NEEDS A SCALPEL, NOT AN AX
Britzky’s report cited previous comments by Robert Salesses, acting deputy defense secretary, who said the DOD would cut “unnecessary spending that set our military back under the previous administration, including through so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs.”
Many Democrats have expressed concern and dismay over the Trump administration cutting climate change programs. They maintain it is a vital national security issue and essential to ensure the nation’s military readiness in the 21st century. Conversely, the Trump administration views it as an unnecessary expense that wastes taxpayer money.
