Hegseth reportedly orders ‘passive approach to Juneteenth' at Pentagon
The office of the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, requested 'a passive approach to Juneteenth messaging', according to an exclusive Rolling Stone report citing a Pentagon email.
This messaging request for Juneteenth, a federal holiday commemorating when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, was transmitted by the Pentagon's office of the chief of public affairs. This office said it was not poised to publish web content related to Juneteenth, Rolling Stone said.
The mandate comes amid Donald Trump's attack on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the government, including the US military, which Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has enthusiastically executed.
'The President's guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at @DeptofDefense,' Hegseth said in a January post on X.
'The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays,' Hegseth also wrote. He posted an apparently hand-written note that read 'DOD ≠ DEI.'
Hegseth has continued to espouse anti-DEI talking points, claiming without evidence that these policies put military service members in harm's way.
In prepared testimony to a Senate hearing this week, Rolling Stone noted, Hegseth said: 'DEI is dead. We replaced it with a color-blind, gender-neutral, merit-based approach, and the force is responding incredibly.'
In response to Rolling Stone's request for comment, the Pentagon said that the Department of Defense 'may engage in the following activities, subject to applicable department guidance: holiday celebrations that build camaraderie and esprit de corps; outreach events (eg, recruiting engagements with all-male, all-female, or minority-serving academic institutions) where doing so directly supports DoD's mission; and recognition of historical events and notable figures where such recognition informs strategic thinking, reinforces our unity, and promotes meritocracy and accountability'.
Asked for comment by the Guardian, a defense spokesperson said: 'We have nothing additional to provide on this.'
President Joe Biden in 2021 made 19 June a federal holiday. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery in the midst of the civil war.
Related: Students at Pentagon schools sue Hegseth over book bans on race and gender
It was not until this date in 1865 that enslaved Black persons in Galveston, Texas, were told about Lincoln's decree. While Robert E Lee had surrendered that April, some supporters of the Confederacy continued to fight.
Trump signed an executive order in January that eliminated DEI in the military. He also appeared to sound off on DEI initiatives in an address to graduating West Point cadets on 24 May.
'They subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects and political causes, while leaving our borders undefended and depleting our arsenals to fight other countries' wars. We fought for other countries' borders but we didn't fight for our own borders, but now we do like we have never fought before,' Trump said.
He also stated 'the job of the US armed forces is not to host drag shows or transform foreign cultures', an apparent allusion to drag shows on US military installations.
Biden's defense department ended drag shows on military bases in 2023 amid Republican criticism.
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USA Today
43 minutes ago
- USA Today
U.S. hits Iran nuclear facilities, braces for counterattack
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Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
US has struck 3 Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign
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The military showdown with Iran comes seven years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-administration brokered agreement in 2018, calling it the 'worst deal ever.' The 2015 deal, signed by Iran, U.S. and other world powers, created a long-term, comprehensive nuclear agreement that limited Tehran's enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Trump decried the Obama-era deal for giving Iran too much in return for too little, because the agreement did not cover Iran's non-nuclear malign behavior. Trump has bristled at criticism from some of his MAGA faithful, including conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, who have suggested that further U.S. involvement would be a betrayal to supporters who were drawn to his promise to end U.S. involvement in expensive and endless wars. ___ Rising reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul; Josef Federman in Jerusalem; Samy Magdy in Cairo; Matthew Lee and Josh Boak in Washington, D.C.; and Farnoush Amiri and Jon Gambrell in Dubai contributed to this report. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Trump's ‘2 weeks' pause on Iran strikes comes with high stakes
President Donald Trump often suggests that something will happen in "two weeks" when he's looking to buy himself some time. But his latest two-weeks declaration - on possible U.S. military strikes in Iran - comes with unusually high stakes. The pause, after days of bellicose rhetoric and social posts about evacuating Tehran, rattled markets in the region, triggered new threats from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, led Iranian officials to call the U.S. Israel's "partner in crime" and left Israel in a holding pattern. Because by now the world knows that Trump's "two weeks" could mean two days, two months or never, his delay this time only fed the uncertainty. Regional equities slid on Friday, despite a sustained surge in oil prices that would typically support sentiment in Gulf economies. Israel - a U.S. ally with particularly close ties to Trump - has been placed in a holding pattern. It launched its attacks arguing that Iran's nuclear capabilities must be neutralized. But experts say it will be hard for Israel to destroy Iran's most fortified uranium enrichment facility, the Fordow plant, without the bunker-busting bombs only the U.S. has. The U.S. military launched several long-range stealth B-2 bombers - the kind that could carry the 30,000-pound bombs - from Missouri over the Pacific, according to media reports, possibly positioning them in case of a strike. The Wall Street Journal cited officials saying that no order has been given to ready an operation. "For the Israelis it does put them in a bind," said Illan Goldenberg, a former White House and Pentagon official who worked on Iran issues. "They'd prefer this not go on for weeks and months." "My guess is they have some kind of option for Fordow, but it's not as good as our option for Fordow," said Goldenberg, a senior vice president at J Street, a liberal Israel lobbying group focused on creating a two-state solution. The Israelis "put themselves in this limbo by launching a war and putting their faith in Donald Trump to come and finish the job." Israeli officials told the White House in what was described as a tense phone call on Thursday that two weeks is too long to wait for Iran to reach a deal to dismantle its nuclear program, Reuters reported Saturday. Iran, meanwhile, could seek to disrupt oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for roughly 20% of global crude flows. Even without a direct move by Tehran, nearly 1,000 vessels daily have reported GPS jamming near the narrow passage separating Iran from its Arab neighbors, according to the French naval liaison body MICA Center. The Houthis, an Iran-backed militia in Yemen, threatened on Saturday to target U.S. vessels and battleships if the U.S. joins Israeli attacks. The conflict started June 13 when Israel, saying it had evidence that Iran was close to achieving nuclear weapons capability, launched a series of missile attacks on Iran, which has returned missile attacks. Keeping the world guessing Trump for years has had a penchant for setting two-week deadlines, sometimes following through and at other times missing them or never acting at all, making "within two weeks" a stock phrase for pending decisions in both his White House terms. On Friday, Trump kept the world guessing on his next steps. Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he called himself a "peacemaker" and dismissed the idea of sending in ground troops. He both suggested he wanted a diplomatic path and said he might support a ceasefire, but also kept a military threat alive, describing the two-week time frame as a maximum. "I'm giving them a period of time," he declared. Israel has pressed Trump to offer support, but in return Trump has only offered a run of tough commentary. European diplomats have stepped in to try to de-escalate tensions by talking to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi with little to show for it but a dismissive remark from Trump. Trump won the presidency twice promising not to get the U.S. involved in the kinds of intractable Middle East wars he savaged his predecessors over. His most fervent MAGA supporters have been urging him publicly and privately to avoid military action in keeping with his "America First" position. Since Israel's assault on Iran started, Israelis have faced hundreds of ballistic missiles and 1,000 drone attacks launched by Tehran. Iran has lost a slew of military officials, with more than 400 people dead and several nuclear facilities and related infrastructure destroyed or damaged. Israel, which has been waging a military campaign in Gaza since Hamas militants attacked the country on Oct. 7, 2023, may struggle to sustain a war against Tehran. The U.S. is already working to replenish Israel's defenses as they deplete their stock of interceptors. And Israeli officials say Trump's pause means the war will last even longer. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted the Jewish state will "achieve all of our objectives," including rendering Fordow inoperable. Trump cited hopes for negotiations as part of his aim for the "two-week" pause. But Iranians refuse to negotiate with the U.S. while an Israeli assault continues, and the talks with European leaders appeared to make little progress. Trump expressed skepticism about those efforts Friday, saying: "Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help them." Yet Iran refuses to talk to the U.S. while the Israeli assault continues. Peter Krause, a Boston College professor who specializes in Middle Eastern politics, argued that if Trump is doing "coercive diplomacy" with Iran, then his "hand is strengthened" the more damage Israelis do to Iran. Krause said the next two weeks will likely see a "ramping up with more of the same militarily, but simultaneously, attempted diplomacy led by the Europeans and maybe the United States and the Turks to see if we can get an off-ramp before things get worse." Trump has also long hurled ultimatums at opponents that he often quickly reverses as he pushes them to make concessions - as the world saw with his tariffs regime in the spring - demanding exorbitant tariffs only to back off once the trading partner arrived at the negotiating table. But taking that approach here may not work. The latest signals from the White House suggest a demand for zero uranium enrichment in Iran, a condition Tehran sees as fundamentally unacceptable. Iranian officials maintain they have no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons, but argue that some level of enrichment, under clear restrictions and oversight, is a sovereign right. Stripping that away, they contend, would amount to capitulation rather than compromise. --- (With assistance from Ethan Bronner.) Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
