The College Fix

‘Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues,’ Trump says

Members of the United States military academies’ advisory boards are being dismissed under new orders from President Donald Trump.

In an announcement Monday on Truth Social, Trump said he “ordered the immediate dismissal of the Board of Visitors for the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Coast Guard,” Politico reports.

“Our Service Academies have been infiltrated by Woke Leftist Ideologues over the last four years,” the president wrote.

“We will have the strongest Military in History, and that begins by appointing new individuals to these Boards,” Trump wrote. “We must make the Military Academies GREAT AGAIN!”

The decision is not unprecedented. Former President Joe Biden also dismissed members of the board when he took office, according to Politico.

Trump has not yet mentioned who he plans to appoint as replacements.

Axios described the roles of the advisory boards:

The four military academies affected by Trump’s directive each have a Board of Visitors made up of six appointees from the president, four designated by the Speaker of the House, three from the vice president, a designee (or the chair) from the House Armed Services Committee and a designee (or the chair) from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

According to US code, those members visit their designated academies annually, reviewing morale, discipline, curriculum, fiscal affairs and other matters.

Trump’s announcement was welcomed news to Professor Chad Pecknold, who teaches political theology at Catholic University of America.

This is the Cadet Chapel at West Point.
The US Government built this because we once knew that all the goods which are worth defending come from God. Removing the pseudo-religion which has infiltrated our service academies will also require that we honor Him. @SecDef https://t.co/3JOsJksbJ6 pic.twitter.com/TsjdeBSdBr

— Chad Pecknold (@ccpecknold) February 10, 2025

Others scholars also have expressed concerns about critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion being taught prevalently in the military academies.

A report last year from Arizona State University’s Center for American Institutions exposed the extent of DEI training in the military academies, The College Fix reported at the time.

For example, the U.S. Air Force Academy teaches about Black Lives Matter, white fragility, and the “1619 project” as part of its mandatory DEI training, according to the report.

Additionally, several of the military academies are facing lawsuits challenging racial considerations in their admissions policies, The Fix reported recently.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been working to dismantle DEI measures in the Department of Education, and, by executive order, end the participation of biological male athletes in women’s sports.

MORE: DEI, critical race theory pervades military trainings: report

IMAGE: Alan Budman/Shutterstock

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