The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is Congress’ annual opportunity to set the direction of our armed forces, and this year it carries more weight than ever. After years of progressive ideological agendas under the Biden administration, the Pentagon has strayed dangerously far from its constitutional mission.
Instead of focusing on defeating enemies and protecting the homeland, it has allowed race, gender, and identity politics to dominate everything from recruitment and training to promotions and leadership selection. If Congress fails to act decisively now, the readiness of the United States military will continue to erode — and with it, our national security.
The FY 2026 NDAA includes some encouraging signs that lawmakers understand the problem. Both the House and Senate versions of the bill contain provisions aimed at eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, restoring merit-based admissions at the military academies, and protecting the integrity of the force. These are welcome first steps, but they are not enough.
The consequences of allowing DEI to fester are not theoretical. Under Biden, military recruitment collapsed. The Army alone missed its 2022 goal by nearly 30,000 recruits, the worst shortfall in half a century. Combat units struggled to meet readiness benchmarks. Morale dropped. The Pentagon poured time and taxpayer dollars into workshops on “unconscious bias,” equity training, and pronoun guidance. Outrageously, my organization, Center to Advance Security in America, even uncovered that in 2022 the U.S. Air Force set a “goal” to reduce the number of white males in the ROTC’s officer applicant pool and set targets for reaching a specific amount of numbers for other racial and gender groups.
Thankfully, President Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have quickly begun to reverse that trend. Their renewed focus on building a warfighter culture – one grounded in discipline, competence, and strength – is already showing results. In June, the Army announced it had exceeded its 2025 recruitment goal. Female enlistment surged. The tide is turning, but unless Congress codifies these reforms into law, it can all be undone by a future administration with different priorities. Executive action is temporary. Legislation is permanent.
That is why the FY 2026 NDAA must not be watered down in backroom negotiations or diluted by timid compromises. Lawmakers must eliminate all DEI-related offices, mandates, and funding. The Chief Diversity Office must be shuttered. All DEI training, quotas, and data collection must be banned. Race and gender should be prohibited as factors in service academy admissions and promotions. Military selection boards must return to their core purpose: choosing the best leaders to win wars and defend the homeland. Anything less is an invitation for ideological bureaucrats to reimpose the very policies that nearly crippled our military’s readiness just a few years ago.
Congress must also undo the damage done by Biden-era policies on transgender medical treatments within the military. The Senate version of the NDAA rightly prohibits sex-change surgeries, but it does not go far enough. Hormone “therapy” and other transition procedures should also be banned. Beyond that, the military should return to the longstanding and common sense understanding that gender dysphoria, like any other serious psychological condition, disqualifies individuals from serving in combat roles. This isn’t discrimination. It’s readiness. And readiness saves lives.
Critical race theory and other radical ideologies must also be eradicated from every level of the Department of War, from the academies to officer training, to the command structure. Congress should include explicit provisions banning these divisive teachings and ensuring that all personnel decisions are made based on merit and performance. The military must be race-neutral, sex-neutral, and focused solely on capability. Every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine must know they were chosen for their strength, not their identity.
Other reforms must also be included in the final bill: banning drag shows and other deviant performances at DOW facilities, prohibiting units from operating social media accounts that distract from mission readiness, and ensuring that only official flags, not ideological banners, fly over American bases and embassies. These may seem symbolic, but symbols matter in military culture. They set the tone, and the tone must reflect discipline and strength, not decadence.
Ultimately, this NDAA is a test. A test of whether Congress has the courage to stand up to the entrenched bureaucrats and radical ideologues who still infest the Pentagon. A test of whether lawmakers will put America’s security above the politics of appeasement. The Trump administration has done its part to reorient the military toward strength. Now Congress must do its job to ensure those changes are permanent.
If DEI is allowed to remain in any form, no matter how small, it will find a way to grow again. That is the nature of ideology. It doesn’t fade. It festers. It waits. And it returns when vigilance weakens. Congress must kill DEI before it kills military readiness, and in doing so, recommit the armed forces of the United States to their true mission: winning wars, defending freedom, and protecting the American people.
James Fitzpatrick is the Director of the Center to Advance Security in America, a former official in the Trump 45 administration, and Army Veteran.