ICYMI: Warren Pushes Back on Trump Attacks on Diversity at Military Academies, Warns of National Security Risks
Warren: “The Trump Administration’s ham-fisted attacks on the service academies undermine our ability to recruit and to train talented, young people who will become a critical part of our lethal fighting force.”
Superintendent of West Point: Clubs are part of what makes West Point “a living, breathing leadership laboratory.”
Washington, D.C. – At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, pushed back against the Trump administration’s recent attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at military academies, including the administration’s recent executive orders leading to the dismantling of clubs at military academies. Warren said this move “does not make it easier to recruit the best and the brightest.”
Recent criticisms from some Republicans have claimed that military academies have lowered admissions standards due to DEI. However, the superintendents of the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the U.S. Naval Academy made clear that students are admitted based on their academic and leadership potential, maintaining high admissions standards.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently questioned the need for civilian professors, but the military academy leaders agreed with Senator Warren that academy students learning from both military and civilian instructors helps “students develop the skills they need to become part of a lethal fighting force.”
“It is one team to be able to develop these midshipmen and [military and civilian instructors] are all in on doing that, so I’m really impressed,” said Vice Admiral Yvette M. Davids, Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy.
All three superintendents also agreed that clubs in military academies are a significant part of students “grow[ing] as leaders by taking initiative and contributing to their communities” and Lieutenant General Gilland, Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, highlighted they are part of what makes West Point being “a living, breathing leadership laboratory.”
“The Trump Administration’s ham-fisted attacks on the service academies undermine our ability to recruit and to train talented, young people who will become a critical part of our lethal fighting force,” concluded Senator Warren.
Transcript: Hearing to Conduct Oversight and Receive Testimony on the Status of the Military Service Academies
Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel
March 26, 2025
Senator Elizabeth Warren: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I’m going to pick up on where you were. The military academies are charged with training the next generation of leaders. And together, the three of you train about one out of every five of our military officers. The military spends millions of dollars, many many years to train our helicopter pilots, our combat leaders, and for a few, the Chiefs of Staff that we end up with.
But the Trump administration is undermining those investments by tilting at windmills named DEI. In less than three months, the administration has cancelled student engineering clubs and purged curricula based on clumsy keyword searches. The administration sends a strong signal that not everyone is welcome in our military.
So today, I want to dig in on how you all think about your mission to develop the leaders who will keep our military strong.
Lieutenant General Bauernfeind, do you consider academic and leadership potential in the admissions process so that we can develop the next generation of military officers who will take on the toughest jobs?
Lieutenant General Tony D. Bauernfeind, Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy: Senator Warren, yes, we do absolutely, in our admissions process, consider leadership in our admissions process and through their 47-month leadership development program.
Senator Warren: Lieutenant General Gilland, same answer? Yes?
Lieutenant General Steven Gilland, Superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point: Yes, Senator Warren.
Senator Warren: And Admiral Davids?
Vice Admiral Yvette M. Davids, Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy: Yes, ma’am, considered in the admissions process.
Senator Warren: Good, so you all admit cadets and midshipmen based on their academic and their leadership potential. Then it’s your job to turn that potential into reality.
So let’s talk about where students develop those skills. One place, obviously, is the classroom. That’s one of the reasons, as you have already described, that students learn from both academic experts and practitioners in the field. Military practitioners obviously have valuable experiences to share with students, but the academies also need the best teachers for physics, and cybersecurity, and electrical engineering, and much much more. The Department of Defense has recognized this, including in a 1993 report calling on the service academies to integrate more civilian faculty so that, “the faculties can act in unity but not identically–a blend of excellence.”
Vice Admiral Davids, does learning from both military and civilian instructors help your students develop the skills they need to become part of a lethal fighting force?
Vice Admiral Davids: Thank you, Senator. Absolutely, they learn from both our military and our civilian. It is one team to be able to develop these midshipmen and they are all in on doing that, so I’m really impressed.
Senator Warren: Good. General Bauernfeind?
Lieutenant General Bauernfeind: Yes, Senator Warren. Yes, we value our faculty as it comes forward, it brings forward – for the two aspects mentioned before – bringing forward that expertise and that operationally-relevant experience to both educate and develop future leaders.
Senator Warren: And General Gilland, are you in agreement with your colleagues here?
Lieutenant General Gilland: Yes, Senator.
Senator Warren: Good. Leadership is obviously about what you learn in the classroom, but it’s also what happens outside the classroom.
So I want to talk for just a second about engineering clubs. They certainly encourage students to learn hard skills and to support each other in that undertaking, it can be difficult, but an engineering club also gives a student an opportunity to take on leadership roles and responsibilities like being the treasurer or being the president. That’s true of other clubs too. One cadet who helped found the Vietnamese-American Cadet Association at West Point said that it helped to make him a better officer and that, “West Point was probably the first place where I had a supportive environment for my identity and who I am.”
So Lieutenant General Gilland, do cadets grow as leaders by taking initiative and contributing to their communities? And are clubs a significant part of that?
Lieutenant General Gilland: Yes, Senator. All of our clubs – and I would consider all of West Point as a living, breathing leadership laboratory.
Senator Warren: I like that. I like that. Vice Admiral Davids?
Vice Admiral Davids: I would agree completely, Senator.
Senator Warren: And General Bauernfeind?
Lieutenant General Bauernfeind: Senator Warren, I do agree as well that our clubs provide opportunities.
Senator Warren: So I’m concerned, because currently, the administration is rolling out executive orders that have led to dismantling clubs that have been around for decades and that have successfully supported students at the service academies. Those leadership opportunities remain available in more than 600 other colleges and universities. Banning those clubs just at our military academies does not make it easier to recruit the best and the brightest. The Trump Administration’s ham-fisted attacks on the service academies undermine our ability to recruit and to train talented, young people who will become a critical part of our lethal fighting force. I think that is bad for our cadets, and it is bad for our national security.
Thank you for being here and we apologize for moving in and out. We’ve got votes at the same time, so this is not a comment on what anyone has to say. Just have to play a little bit of tag here.
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