Pentagon chief cancels program on women in security that was signed into law by Trump

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth connected Tuesday canceled a programme that promoted the contributions of women successful nationalist information sectors, adjacent though it was signed into instrumentality by President Donald Trump successful 2017 and has been championed by existent Trump medication officials.

During his archetypal term, Trump signed into instrumentality the Women, Peace and Security Act, which sought to summation the relation of women successful preventing and resolving conflict, countering convulsive extremism and gathering post-conflict stability.

On Tuesday, Hegseth said helium was arrogant to person ended the programme astatine the Pentagon.

"WPS is yet different woke divisive/social justice/Biden inaugural that overburdens our commanders and troops — distracting from our halfway task: WAR-FIGHTING," Hegseth said connected X.

"(Department of Defense) volition hereby enforcement the minimum of WPS required by statute, and combat to extremity the programme for our adjacent budget," helium added. "GOOD RIDDANCE WPS!"

He aboriginal tweeted, without evidence, that the Biden medication had "distorted & weaponized the straight-forward & security-focused WPS inaugural launched successful 2017."

Hegseth has taken purpose astatine diversity, equity and inclusion astatine the Pentagon since helium took office.

With Hegseth arsenic defence secretary, the Pentagon has ended commemorations of individuality period celebrations, similar Black History Month, and immoderate books person been removed from the Naval Academy-- including Maya Angelou's memoir.

The WPS programme was promoted by the archetypal Trump administration.

"This is the archetypal authorities of its benignant globally,

which makes the United States the archetypal state in

the satellite with a broad instrumentality connected WPS," a 2019 White House papers said.

It besides has bipartisan support. Marco Rubio, Trump's caput of state, was a co-sponsor of the bill, arsenic was Kristi Noem, the existent caput of homeland security. Mike Waltz, Trump's nationalist information advisor, was a founding subordinate of the WPS legislature caucus erstwhile helium was a lawmaker.

"President Trump besides signed the Women, Peace, and Security Act, a measure that I was precise arrogant to person been a co-sponsor of erstwhile I was successful the Senate," Rubio said earlier this period astatine the State Department.

"It was the archetypal broad instrumentality passed successful immoderate state successful the satellite – the archetypal instrumentality passed by immoderate state anyplace successful the satellite – focused connected protecting women and promoting their information successful society," Rubio added.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)