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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired back at House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Sunday after the New York Democrat called him and other Trump appointees "Dumb Effing Individuals," a play on the DEI acronym, in an X video on Saturday.
"That's how far they have fallen. It's astonishing, not surprising," Hegseth told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo.
"Of course, they don't like the fact that we're ripping DEI out of the military and making it colorblind and merit-based."
DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH TOUTS ‘HISTORIC’ DEALS TO DETER ‘CHINESE INFLUENCE’ IN PANAMA CANAL
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to give a television interview outside the White House, on Friday, March 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)
"If their whole strategy is… minute-long videos on TikTok to call us names while we secure the southern border, kick out Chinese influence, revive the warrior culture inside our military, that's why they lost in a historic fashion to President Trump last time, and their future looks bleak as well."
Jeffries' remarks criticized Hegseth's instruction to purge the U.S. Naval Academy's library of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related content.
He vowed to keep pressure on "extremists" behind the move.
HEGSETH SAYS PANAMA AGREED TO ALLOW US WARSHIPS TO TRAVEL ‘FIRST AND FREE’ THROUGH CANAL
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hegseth shared the latest news from several foreign policy arenas — a historic deal to deter Chinese influence in the Panama Canal and President Trump's "dead serious" effort to prevent a nuclear Iran in this week's "Sunday Morning Futures" exclusive.
Rather than focusing on DEI, he said he remains focused on "rebuilding America's military" with "peace through strength" policies, cutting out waste and investing in new technologies like the F-47 fighter jet.
"We're looking at all the ways in which our military academies educate and giving guidance to get rid of DEI, and I think the American people appreciate that," he added.
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Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.
