WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.), Ranking Member of the Military Personnel Subcommittee, sent letters to Secretaries of the United States Army and United States Navy and the Acting Secretary of the United States Air Force following reports that the Secretary of Defense has ordered at least one military academy to purge books from its library.  

In the letters, Smith and Houlahan wrote, “We write to you with grave concern regarding recent reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the United States Naval Academy to remove books from circulation in Nimitz Library that advance ‘gender ideology’ or ‘discriminatory equity ideology’ pursuant to the January 29, 2025 Executive Order ‘Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.’ It was also reported that 900 books were identified for potential removal and that 400 books are currently being purged from the Nimitz Library.”

“If true, this is a blatant attack on the First Amendment and a clear effort to suppress academic freedom and rigor at the United States Naval Academy (and) displays an alarming return to McCarthy-era censorship,” Smith and Houlahan wrote.

The Ranking Members asked each secretary if the military academy in their jurisdiction has been directed to initiate a review and removal of books, and if so, by whom. They also asked if the academies are conducting reviews of books for potential removal, and if so, what books have been identified and how, and whether books have already been removed from circulation, and if so, what books have been or will be purged. They further demanded an immediate cessation of “the review and removal of books and materials at the United States Naval Academy.” 

The letter to Secretary of the Navy John Phelan can be found here, the letter to Secretary of the Army Dan P. Driscoll can be found here, and the letter to Acting Secretary of the Air Force Gary A. Ashworth can be found here.