Here is what actually happened: Hegseth declared victory over a policy Scouting says it never agreed to.
Yes, some changes were made to preserve the military partnership. A merit badge for those who “realize the benefits of diversity, equity, inclusion, and ethical leadership” was dropped. And children of active duty military have free registration. The Secretary of War may call those triumphs, but they do not rewrite the soul of Scouting—nor any legal precedent.
When I lost my case, the Supreme Court handed the Scouts a constitutional shield: the right to define their own membership free from government interference. Hegseth isn’t misreading that decision. He’s ignoring it when it gets in his way.
Now the federal government is using base access, military installation support, and logistical backing for the National Jamboree as leverage over Scouting’s internal rules. Lawyers call this the Doctrine of Unconstitutional Conditions: the government cannot condition a benefit on the requirement that a person or group waive a constitutional right. The rest of us call it a shakedown.
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