The U.S. Naval Academy removed nearly 400 books that promote diversity, equity and inclusion from its library to comply with President Donald Trump’s efforts to eliminate DEI in federal agencies and schools.
In a statement to The Christian Post, a spokesperson for the Navy said the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, removed nearly 400 books from the Nimitz Library “to ensure compliance with all directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President.”
“Nimitz Library houses roughly 590,000 print books, 322 databases, and over 5,000 print journals and magazines to support the academic inquiries and intellectual development of Midshipmen,” the spokesperson stated.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
“The Naval Academy’s mission is to develop Midshipmen morally, mentally and physically in order to cultivate honorable leaders, create a culture of excellence, and prepare them for careers of service to our country.”
Academy officials received the instruction late last week to review the library. The initial search identified around 900 books before the school selected nearly 400 to remove, as The Associated Press reported.
The removal took place before a visit from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a visit that officials said was already planned and unconnected to the purge, according to AP. A list of the books removed from the library has yet to be made available.
The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, and the Air Force and Naval academies conducted curriculum reviews. West Point is prepared to review its library content if instructed by the Army to do so, the news wire noted.
While it remains unclear whether Hegseth or a member of his staff instructed the Naval Academy to review its library, AP reported there has been some confusion about how to interpret the Trump administration’s DEI policies.
Before Hegseth’s arrival, Naval Academy personnel mistakenly removed several photos of distinguished female Jewish graduates from a display case, according to AP. The photos have since been returned, with academy leadership confirming in a statement that it was aware of the situation and had taken steps to correct it.
Following his return to office in January, Trump and his administration have taken steps to end DEI programs, which the government argues are “illegal” and “discriminatory.”
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The order asserted that DEI policies “violate the text and spirit of our longstanding Federal civil-rights laws, calling for an end to the use of affirmative action in hiring and admissions practices.
On Jan. 27, Trump signed another executive order that sought to end race-based and sex-based discrimination within the U.S. Armed Forces. The president declared in the order that “every element of the Armed Forces should operate free from any preference based on race or sex.”
In response to the executive order, the U.S. Naval Academy changed its policy to no longer consider an individual’s race, ethnicity or sex as a factor for admission.
Vice Admiral Yvette Davids, the superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, made the policy change in February, according to court documents.
The superintendent’s decision followed a December ruling from a federal judge that the Naval Academy could continue its race-conscious admissions policy. The judge rejected a challenge from Students for Fair Admissions, which had brought the case against the Naval Academy’s policy.
“Students for Fair Admissions welcomes the announcement that the U.S. Naval Academy will end its unfair and illegal race-based admissions policies. Racial discrimination is wrong and racial classifications have no place at our nation’s military academies,” Edward Blum, president of Students for Fair Admissions, said about the decision.
Due to the academy’s policy change, the Department of Justice asked the court to pause the case as both parties considered the new policy.
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it’s unconstitutional for the University of North Carolina and Harvard University to use race as a factor in student admissions.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
