U.S. ready to cut support to Scouts, accusing them of attacking ‘boy-friendly spaces’

Photo: President Hoover receives Boy Scouts from Kingston, PA, January 8, 1930. Photographer: Harris & Ewing. Photo via Library of Congress Online Catalog / Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. Article by Graham Smith and Tom Bowman. NPR – November 25, 2025.

The century-old partnership between the U.S. military and Scouting could be coming to an end. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning for the military to sever all ties with Scouting America, saying the group once known as the Boy Scouts is no longer a meritocracy and has become an organization designed to “attack boy-friendly spaces,” according to documents reviewed by NPR. In a draft memo to Congress, which sources shared with NPR but which has not yet been sent, Hegseth criticizes Scouting for being “genderless” and for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. […]

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