The U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office to review and get rid of ones that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, U.S officials said Tuesday.
Academy officials were told to review the library late last week, and an initial search had identified about 900 books for a closer look. They decided on nearly 400 to remove and began doing so Monday, finishing before Hegseth arrived for a visit Tuesday that had already been planned and was not connected to the library purge, officials said. A list of the books has not yet been made available.
Pulling the books off the shelves is another step in the Trump administration’s far-reaching effort to eliminate DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings, and curricula at schools.
The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, had not been included in President Donald Trump’s executive order in January that banned DEI instruction, programs, or curricula in kindergarten through 12th grade schools that receive federal funding. That is because the academies are colleges.
Pentagon leaders, however, suddenly turned their attention to the Naval Academy last week when a media report noted that the school had not removed books that promoted DEI. A U.S. official said the academy was told late last week to conduct the review and removal. It isn’t clear if the order was directed by Hegseth or someone else on his staff.
A West Point official confirmed that the school had completed a review of its curriculum and was prepared to review library content if directed by the Army. The Air Force and Naval academies had also done curriculum reviews as had been required.