Rachel Maddow
‪@maddow.msnbc.com‬
"Protests by military families against a defense secretary are extremely rare..."

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February 11, 2025 at 3:13 PM

NBC News: Defense Secretary Hegseth booed and heckled by military families protesting against DEI push

Last week, Hegseth wrote a memo in which he banned transgender people from joining the military and restricted the use of some learning materials in Defense Department schools.

Feb. 11, 2025, 8:25 AM EST
By Courtney Kube
Military families protesting the Defense Department's anti-DEI push heckled Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on his arrival at United States European Command headquarters in Germany on Tuesday.

On a visit to the U.S. military’s key European military hub in Stuttgart, Hegseth was booed by around two dozen people who live at the base in an apparent demonstration against the policies currently being implemented by the Trump administration.

The demonstrators at the short protest repeatedly chanted “DEI,” apparently in a reference to the recent ban Hegseth has placed on some books in defense department schools. Hegseth last week ordered the restriction of learning materials covering subjects that included psychology and immigration in DOD schools.

Hegseth also said in a memo last week that the U.S. military will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and will stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members.

“Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused,” Hegseth said in the memo. “All unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused.”

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