Scouting America says transgender youth remain welcome in its programs, despite claims from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that membership rules would change. On Friday, the organization pushed back after Hegseth said in a social media video that Scouting America would “modify its policy to make clear that membership will be based solely on biological sex at birth and not gender identity.”
He also said biological boys and girls will not be permitted to occupy or share intimate spaces together, such as toilets, showers, and tents, and criticized the group for welcoming the “destructive myth of gender fluidity and transgenderism to infiltrate their membership.” Scouting America’s leadership directly contradicted those remarks. President and CEO Roger Krone told The Associated Press, “We have transgender people in our program, and we’ll have transgender people in our program going forward.”
In a memo to members, Krone wrote that the eligibility requirements are unchanged and that Scouting will welcome and serve all youth, with existing registration and youth-protection policies remaining in place. While announcing other program changes, including new merit badges and the dissolution of its DEI committee, Krone emphasized that membership rules governing who can join are not being altered. The organization recently rebranded as coeducational and says it now serves nearly one million youth nationwide.
