Buckle up, folks—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just dropped a bombshell by axing a decades-old advisory group on women in the military, claiming it’s been pushing a divisive agenda over combat readiness, The Hill reported.

In a bold move announced Tuesday by the Pentagon, Hegseth has decided to terminate the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), a panel established in 1951 to guide policies affecting female service members, following a sweeping review of Pentagon advisory groups.

Let’s rewind to March, when Hegseth kicked off a comprehensive evaluation of all Pentagon advisory committees, hitting pause on their operations and clearing out their members.

Hegseth’s Review Targets Advisory Committees

By May, the review wrapped up, recommending the elimination of 14 defense advisory groups, with DACOWITS landing squarely on the chopping block.

Hegseth’s reasoning? He’s accused the committee of “advancing a divisive feminist agenda,” as Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson put it, arguing it undermines the military’s focus on combat effectiveness.

Wilson added that Hegseth “has focused on advancing uniform, sex-neutral standards across the Department,” a stance that suggests prioritizing merit over what some see as ideological crusades. Call it a return to basics, though critics might disagree.

DACOWITS’ History and Purpose Questioned

DACOWITS, founded over 70 years ago, has been a quarterly forum for civilian men and women—selected by the Secretary of War—to advise on issues like ill-fitting body armor, parental leave, and childcare policies for women in the armed forces.

Supporters insist the panel isn’t beholden to any political agenda or special interest, but Hegseth clearly sees it differently, framing its work as a distraction from mission-critical priorities.

Democratic lawmakers aren’t taking this lying down, with senators and representatives penning a sharp letter on May 13 to urge Hegseth to reconsider, highlighting the panel’s track record of influence.

Democratic Lawmakers Push Back Hard

As Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Mazie Hirono, alongside Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Mikie Sherrill, and Maggie Goodlander, wrote, “approximately ninety-four percent (94%) of DACOWITS’ recommendations have either been fully or partially adopted by DOD.”

That’s a hefty success rate, but let’s be real—numbers don’t always tell the whole story when the core mission might be veering off course in Hegseth’s view. Is it impact or ideology at play here?

The same lawmakers also warned that scrapping DACOWITS could “exacerbate the gap in the collection of data regarding key policies to improve conditions for service women and reduce barriers to the recruitment and retention of women.”

Concerns Over Data and Recruitment Gaps

Translation: they fear losing a vital tool for understanding and addressing challenges unique to female service members. Fair point, but one wonders if those challenges can’t be tackled through broader, less agenda-driven channels.

This isn’t the first time DACOWITS has faced the axe—back in 2021, a bipartisan coalition, including female veterans in Congress, successfully lobbied then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to preserve it during his own committee review, which prioritized diversity and inclusion initiatives that Hegseth has openly opposed.

So, here we are again, but with a different sheriff in town—and Hegseth’s no-nonsense approach to trimming what he sees as ideological fat might just stick this time. It’s a classic clash of priorities: practical readiness versus progressive policy. Who’s got the stronger case? Only time will tell.