‘No Idea What He’s Doing’: Hegseth Roasted For Ending ‘Biden Initiative’ Championed By Marco Rubio and Signed Into Law by Trump

(Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via AP)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday that he canceled a program that promoted women in national security and military roles in the U.S. government, sparking a quick backlash.

“This morning, I proudly ENDED the “Women, Peace & Security” (WPS) program inside the @DeptofDefense. WPS is yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our core task: WAR-FIGHTING,” Hegseth wrote on X, adding:

WPS is a UNITED NATIONS program pushed by feminists and left-wing activists. Politicians fawn over it; troops HATE it.

DoD will hereby executive the minimum of WPS required by statute, and fight to end the program for our next budget.

GOOD RIDDANCE WPS!

Hegseth’s announcement quickly raised eyebrows as the Women, Peace and Security Act, which created the program he ended, was not only signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017, but was also sponsored in Congress by key members of Trump’s current cabinet.

Punchbowl News’s Andrew Desiderio connected some of the dots in reply to Hegseth, writing, “Marco Rubio was the lead Senate sponsor of WPS. Kristi Noem was the lead House sponsor. And Mike Waltz chaired the House’s WPS caucus.” Rubio is, of course, Trump’s Secretary of State, while Noem serves as Homeland Security Secretary, and Waltz is the national security advisor.

Politico’s Dave Brown also replied to Hegseth and noted that Rubio had praised the program just 28 days ago, saying, “President Trump also signed the Women, Peace, and Security Act, a bill that I was very proud to have been a co-sponsor of when I was in the Senate, and it was the first comprehensive law passed in any country in the world – the first law passed by any country anywhere in the world – focused on protecting women and promoting their participation in society.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) also shared an old post from Ivanka Trump praising the program and lauding Colombia for enacting a similar law. Below are some additional replies:

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