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CAPAC lambasts Hegseth's 'beardos' comment, demands clarification
Rep. Grace Meng described the Defense Secretary's remarks as an insult to millions of Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian personnel in the US Army.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Sat, 11, Oct 2025
- 00:59 EDT
- 24
CAPAC described Hegseth’s comments as appalling / Wikimedia commons
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) chair, Rep. Grace Meng, along with the chairs of the Congressional Jewish Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus, has issued a statement condemning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent comments regarding grooming and uniform standards within the U.S. military.
The Secretary of War, Hegseth, while addressing military commanders at Quantico, Virginia, spoke extensively about "wokeness". During the speech, he made multiple remarks about serving personnel with beards. He said, "No more beards, long hair, superficial individual expression”. He also said, “no more beardo-s."
ALSO READ: Hegseth slams 'fat generals,' says U.S. officers should resign if they don't support his agenda
CAPAC's statement expressed concern and said, "We are deeply concerned about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments declaring there will be ‘no more beardos’ in the U.S. Armed Forces and that ‘the age of rampant and ridiculous shaving profiles is done."
Describing Hegseth’s comments as "appalling", Rep. Meng described the Defence Secretary's words as an "insult to the millions of Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Americans who have answered the call to serve."
ALSO READ: Sikh Coalition decries Defence Secretary's ban on beards in U.S. Armed Forces
In his Sept. 30 speech at Quantico, Hegseth effectively ended religious exceptions granted to serving personnel. Addressing a rare gathering of military commanders, Hegseth went on to say that they should resign if they don't support his agenda.
Previously, the updated policy issued by the US Army on July 7 barred permanent shaving waivers beyond religious accommodations, taking away permanent waivers offered to individuals with medical conditions.
The new Sept. 30 memo, issued after Hegseth's Quantico address, goes a step further and ends the provision for religious accommodations in grooming standards.
Citing both religious and medical concerns to the new effectively-blanket ban on shaving waivers, the Caucuses stated, "Any move to eliminate or stigmatize beard accommodations — whether for religious or medical reasons — risks marginalizing communities that have long faced discriminatory grooming standards in the military.
It added, "Our servicemen and servicewomen put their lives on the line to protect our country and deserve nothing but the utmost respect."
ALSO READ: Vance backs military grooming standards in shutdown briefing
Hegseth's policy announcement has drawn the ire not just from political circles but also community organizations. The Sikh Coalition also decried the Secretary of War's words and said, "The Sikh Coalition is angered and deeply concerned by the Secretary of Defense’s comments in regards to grooming and uniform standards within the military that were made today."
Echoing similar sentiments, Rep. Meng noted in the statement, “As Members of Congress, we demand that the Department of Defense clarify their memorandum from September 30 and explain how they plan to honor the religious liberty and medical accommodations of our brave servicemembers. We must support our troops, not sow division in the military.”
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