Senate Reportedly Removes Phrase ‘White Nationalist’ To Screen Military Enlistees
The Republican-controlled Senate has reportedly removed the phrase “white nationalist” from a measure in the National Defense Authorization Act, which is intended to explicitly address the threat of white nationalism in the military.
According to CNN, the language was cut from a House of Representatives-passed amendment, which was passed in July, before passing the military spending bill on Tuesday (Dec. 17).
The House amendment was drafted to explicitly study the feasibility of screening for white nationalist beliefs in military enlistees. The final version passed by the Senate now only requires the Department of Defense to monitor for "extremist and gang-related activity."
"We know that white nationalist extremists are actively trying to enlist in our military, and we know they are doing so to acquire combat and weapons training," California Rep. Pete Aguilar (D) said in a statement to CNN.
"I introduced my amendment because keeping this hateful ideology out of our military is crucial to our national security and to the safety of our service members. We can't address the problem if we won't acknowledge there is one, which is why I was disappointed by the Senate Republicans' decision to strike this language.”
The news comes just days after the military claimed they were investigating white power signs being held up during the annual Army-Navy football game. During ESPN’s pregame coverage of the annual academy clash, cadets on both sides of the rivalry, including two from West Point and one from the Naval Academy, made gestures that looked like a white power sign. The army has since cleared the individuals of any wrongdoing and claimed they were playing a hand signal game.
