1. United States
2. Iowa
3. Letter

I am writing as your constituent to demand you speak out against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s reckless and unconstitutional ban on military officers attending Ivy League universities. Without citing a single piece of evidence, Hegseth declared that schools including Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Brown, and MIT have become “breeding grounds of toxic indoctrination” — and ordered the complete cancellation of all Pentagon attendance at those institutions starting next academic year. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. Hegseth himself earned a master’s degree from Harvard — the very school he now calls a factory for “woke ideology.” His own Deputy Defense Secretary attended Princeton. The Army Secretary holds a Yale law degree. The Navy Secretary holds an MBA from Harvard. This ban doesn’t protect our military — it weakens it. A military official called it an effort to “purge intellect, diversity of thinking, and critical thought” from the armed forces. One active-duty service member said the announcement has deflated them and may push them to leave the military early. This is not leadership. This is performative culture war politics at the direct expense of our troops’ futures and our national security. I urge you to condemn this policy publicly, demand Hegseth provide actual evidence for his claims, and call for congressional oversight of the Pentagon’s increasingly reckless decision-making.