Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently used the former names of two U.S. military bases—Fort Bragg and Fort Benning—during a speech announcing the Pentagon’s immediate rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. These installations were renamed in 2021 under a defense bill to shed Confederate ties, becoming Fort Liberty and Fort Moore, respectively. Hegseth’s remarks aligned with efforts to enforce former President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting DEI policies and curbing what he termed “wokeness” in the military.

Simultaneously, Trump is moving to dismantle President Joe Biden’s climate agenda by pushing executive actions to expand fossil fuel production and declaring an “energy emergency” aimed at shielding drilling projects from legal hurdles. This shift reverses Biden’s climate measures, such as rejoining the Paris Agreement and imposing environmental regulations. Trump’s orders also prioritize mining critical minerals, expediting energy infrastructure, and advancing offshore drilling.

Jeff Reynolds, a senior editor at Restoration News, attributed Trump’s assertive energy policies to a reaction against Biden’s climate-focused approach, framing them as part of Trump’s pledge to bolster domestic energy production and slash regulations—a stark contrast to his predecessor’s environmental priorities.