US Naval Academy removes 400 books from library in anti-diversity purge

The US Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by the office of the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to review and get rid of any that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, US officials said on 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 on 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 so-called DEI content from federal agencies, including policies, programs, online and social media postings and curriculum at schools.

A Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, said late on Tuesday: “All service academies are fully committed to executing and implementing President Trump’s executive orders.”

The Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, were not included in Donald Trump’s executive order in January that banned DEI instruction, programs or curriculum 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 US official said the academy was told late last week to conduct the review and removal. It is not 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 also completed curriculum reviews as had been required.

An Air Force Academy official said the school continually reviewed its curriculum, coursework and other materials to ensure it all complied with executive orders and defense department policies. Last week, Lt Gen Tony Bauernfeind, the academy’s superintendent, told Congress that the school was in the middle of its course review, but there was no mention of books.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss academy policies.

Hegseth has aggressively pushed the department to erase DEI programs and online content, but the campaign has been met with questions from angry lawmakers, local leaders and citizens over the removal of military heroes and historic mentions from defense department websites and social media pages.

In response, the department has scrambled to restore some of those posts as their removals have come to light.

The confusion about how to interpret the DEI policy was underscored on Monday as Naval Academy personnel mistakenly removed some photos of distinguished female Jewish graduates from a display case as they prepared for Hegseth’s visit. The photos were put back.

In a statement, the navy said it is aware that photos were mistakenly removed from the Naval Academy Jewish center. It said US Naval Academy leadership was immediately taking steps to review and correct the unauthorized removal.

Hegseth spoke with students and had lunch at the academy on Tuesday, but media were not invited or allowed to cover the visit.