A federal judge has dealt a significant blow to Pete Hegseth’s education policies, ruling that his order to remove books from military school libraries violated constitutional rights.
The ruling came after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of students attending Department of War schools.
The legal action challenged Hegseth’s directive to pull hundreds of books addressing race and gender topics from library shelves.
Biden-appointed Judge Patricia Giles determined that the book removal order infringed upon First Amendment rights.
Her decision requires the Pentagon to return the removed materials to school libraries at five installations named in the lawsuit.
The affected schools include Crossroads Elementary School at Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia and Barsanti Elementary School at Fort Campbell in Kentucky.
Three overseas facilities are also covered: Aviano Middle-High School in Italy, and both Sollars Elementary and Egdren Middle High School at Misawa Air Base in Japan.
Among the titles ordered back onto shelves are Maya Angelou’s memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and State of Emergency, which features a foreword by rapper Cardi B.
Other works include White Fragility and Was the Cat in the Hat Black?
Hegseth had justified the removals by stating that educational materials “promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology are incompatible with the Department’s core mission.”
The book purge was part of his broader initiative since taking over the department.
The ACLU had requested the judge extend her order to all 161 DoD-operated military schools throughout the United States and 11 foreign countries. However, Judge Giles denied this request, limiting her ruling to only the five schools specifically named in the lawsuit.
In her decision, Judge Giles referenced a recent Supreme Court ruling as the basis for restricting the scope of her order.
She stated that the high court’s decision established that “universal injunctions likely exceed the power Congress has granted to federal courts,” the Daily Mail highlighted.
The ruling prevents the five named schools from taking further action to remove educational materials while the case continues through the court system.
Kasey Meehan from PEN America called the decision “a solid first step in a long road to restoring and protecting students’ freedom to read in schools run for military families.”
The legal setback comes amid increasing internal criticism of Hegseth’s leadership.
Three Pentagon insiders—one high-ranking officer and two longtime civilian military officials—have expressed concerns about the Secretary’s management of the department.
“What we have here is an empty suit running this department into the ground,” said one civilian who has worked at the Pentagon for nearly three decades.
Another described the situation as “soul sucking to witness,” per the Daily Mail.
Hegseth has implemented sweeping changes since assuming his position at what he rebranded as the “Department of War.”
He has vowed to restore what he calls a “warrior ethos” and institute “scary, tough, disciplined” fitness regimens, stating he is “tired of seeing fat troops.”
During a recent address to top generals, Hegseth declared: “We became the woke department. But not anymore. No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions.”
Hegseth has also moved to restrict information flow from the Pentagon.
The Daily Mail further noted that On Oct. 15, he issued a memo requiring all military personnel to obtain express approval before speaking to Congress.
The memo stated the department “relies on a collaborative and close partnership with Congress to achieve our legislative goals” and requires “coordination and alignment of Department messaging.”
