Join Puck to listen to this article
An annual ceremony honoring female veterans at Arlington National Cemetery, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been canceled after three branches of the military declined to participate—a first in the program’s 28-year history. The Air Force and the Space Force said that the ceremony violated President Trump’s executive order ending “radical and wasteful government D.E.I. programs and preferencing.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs from the military, and has fired or refused to promote women or people of color. Meanwhile, the Army cited a conflict with the branch’s anniversary on June 14. (The military branches didn’t respond to a request for comment by deadline.)