There’s good news from one of America’s most storied institutions: Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts of America, is rolling back the DEI framework and the “pro-trans” posture it adopted during the post-2020 cultural upheaval.

That shift didn’t happen in a vacuum. Credit is due to Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon for triggering a compliance review tied to federal contracting rules. The result: a long-overdue reassessment of policies that had pulled the Scouts away from their core mission and into ideological battles they were never meant to fight.

For years, the left had the Scouts in its crosshairs, seeking to force a pillar of wholesome American tradition into the mold of modern culture-war activism. Like many institutions, Scout leadership tried to appease critics, hoping limited concessions would preserve goodwill. That gamble failed — as it has at universities and even legacy liberal institutions like the American Civil Liberties Union.

Notably, the organization never abandoned its Scout Oath:

“On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.”

That moral anchor likely helped prevent Scouting from sliding as far as so many other institutions already have.

This reversal does not undo other changes the Scouts have made — including welcoming girls into programs and permitting openly gay scoutmasters, with appropriate safeguards. What it does undo is the attempt to rebrand Scouting through the lens of DEI ideology and gender politics.

And the Pentagon’s involvement was entirely proper. It is obligated to ensure that organizations receiving military-related contracts comply with executive orders banning racially discriminatory DEI programs. Scouting, like any private group, can still promote respect and equal treatment — without embracing a framework that divides people by race or injects sexual ideology into youth programs.

During the Joe Biden years, enormous pressure was placed on both public and private institutions to adopt DEI policies, regardless of mission or audience. Undoing that damage is not only justified — it’s necessary.

For parents and supporters who value character, service, and traditional civic virtue, this move signals something important: the Scouts may once again be focused on forming better citizens, not satisfying activists. And that’s exactly what Scouting was meant to do.