WASHINGTON - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Tuesday he would terminate the Women’s Defense Program created and promoted by the first Trump administration.

The bill to establish the Women, Peace and Security Program (WPS) program was written by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in the House of Representatives and was served by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Senate.

"WPS is another awakening division/social justice/Biden initiative that takes our commanders and troops past our core mission: Fight: War." He added that the program has bipartisan support in Congress, which he "pushed by feminists and left-wing activists."

Heggs said that while he is terminating the program, the department must implement “the minimum WPS required by regulations” and then “end the fight for the program for our next budget.”

"Good Knight WPS!" he said.

Trump signed the Women, Peace and Security Act as a law in 2017, directing the Department of National Defense and Homeland Security to implement it.

Noem wrote a version of the bill in the House of Representatives representing South Dakota that year. She wrote in her last Congress in 2016 that legislation “ensures women seats at the table during peace talks under meaningful congressional supervision.” Once passed through the house in 2017, then-speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. A rare signing ceremony was held, including Noem.

According to the Trump White House at the time, the first Trump administration issued a formal strategy in 2019 and presented more specific instructions in 2019 to further achieve the WPS’s goals to “promote women’s meaningful inclusion in the process to prevent, mitigate, resolve, recover from deadly conflicts or disasters.” Trump even touted the initiative on his 2024 presidential campaign website, where he listed achievements that benefit women.

Recently, Rubio highlighted the legislation, which was part of the effort at an event held at the State Department earlier this month.

“President Trump also signed the Women, Peace and Security Act, which I am proud to be a co-sponsor when I was in the Senate, the first comprehensive law passed by any country in the world, the first law passed by any country in the world – the focus is on protecting women and promoting their participation in society,” Rubio said. ”

Neither Noem nor Rubio said they plan to end their WPS efforts at the Department of Homeland Security or the State Department.

The Department of Homeland Security, State Department, Defense Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.