Public Domain

On 20 January 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” that clearly stated:

“terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” offices and positions (including but not limited to “Chief Diversity Officer” positions); all “equity action plans,” “equity” actions, initiatives, or programs, “equity-related” grants or contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.”1

On 27 January 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order “Restores Merit and Lethality to America’s Armed Forces” that clearly stated:

“This Order also abolishes any remnant of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy within the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.”2

The same week, SECDEF Pete Hegseth posted the following on X:

““The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at @DeptofDefense. The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays,” Hegseth posted on X” 3

USUHS (acronym for Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences) is a DoD funded medical school in Bethesda, MD that trains doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals for the US armed services. It also operates a federally funded and resourced Master of Public Health Program (MPH)

On 12 February 2025, the following was listed as one of 6 key objectives of the USUHS MPH Program) on the DoD funded www.usuhs.edu website:

MPH outcome #6: 6. Discuss how structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges for achieving health equity at the organizational, community and societal levels.

MPH outcome #15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.4

While USUHS is smaller than the service academies, it still receives federal funding for its operations and faculty, and has numerous uniformed active-duty faculty. It receives over $300M in federal research funds each year. Founded in 1972, it is a major source of physicians for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Perhaps USUHS just hasn’t reacted to the Executive Orders and SECDEF directives, even though it has been over 3 weeks and the rest of DoD seems to be jumping through hoops at warp speed to comply. A quick query of the faculty and curriculum at USUHS, however, shows the depth of DEI’s influence and infiltration at America’s military medical school.

The civilian medical community is pushing back hard against POTUS to defend DEI. Does USUHS think that because it is medical it can do the same?

SECDEF Hegseth already had a conference call with the Superintendents of West Point, Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy in which he stated, “Social Justice and DEI Are out.”

Perhaps SECDEF Hegseth needs to pay a visit to USUHS just a few miles away from his Pentagon and have USUHS get with the program and end DEI.

 

  1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/
  2. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/01/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-restores-merit-and-lethality-to-americas-armed-forces/
  3. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense/3301027/hegseth-sets-out-eradicate-dei-from-pentagon/#google_vignette
  4. https://usuhs.smartcatalogiq.com/2024-2025/academic-catalog/graduate-education-office-geo/public-health-mph/