Pete Hegseth Promises to Reinstate and Grant Backpay to Military Members Forced Out Due to Vaccine Mandates

While delivering comments at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday, President Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth made a big promise.

He said that he would reinstate every military member who was unfairly kicked out because they refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, restore their rank, and grant them backpay.

Here’s what he said:

Pete Hegseth will reinstate every member of the military that was kicked out for not taking the jab, and restored with pay & rank. pic.twitter.com/eFBbKBCeSo

— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) January 14, 2025

Listen to this. Pete Hegseth said that military members who were removed for not taking the covid vaccine will get reinstated and back pay.

Confirm Pete now! pic.twitter.com/katRr6QKPw

— Sassafrass84 (@Sassafrass_84) January 14, 2025

Pete Hegseth’s promises could mean re-instating 8,000 troops.

Per Military Times:

During comments at his confirmation hearing Tuesday, Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth vowed to reinstate and reimburse troops dismissed from the ranks for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine years ago.

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The surprise statement came amid unrelated questions about Hegseth’s views towards diversity and discrimination policies in the military. Hegseth, who previously served in the National Guard, said past Pentagon policies requiring the vaccine amounted to its own form of religious discrimination.

“Tens of thousands of service members were kicked out because of an experimental vaccine,” Hegseth said. “They will be apologized to. They will be reinstated, reinstituted with pay and rank.”

Defense Department leaders mandated the COVID-19 vaccine for all troops from August 2021 to January 2023, with limited exceptions for medical issues or religious objections. About 8,000 troops were forced out of the service for refusing the order.

Business Insider added:

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, pledged Tuesday to re-recruit troops forced out of the military for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and said they would receive back pay, restored ranks, and an apology.

“Service members who were kicked out because of the experimental vaccine,” Hegseth told lawmakers, “they will be apologized to. They will be reinstituted with pay and rank.”

Hegseth, if confirmed by the Senate, would build on the groundwork laid by Trump, who told supporters last summer he would “rehire every patriot who was fired from the military,” because of the vaccine mandate.

Over 8,400 troops were separated from the services after refusing to receive the vaccine following a lawful order from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in 2021. The Pentagon argued that the vaccines, similar to over a dozen others servicemembers receive, were crucial to military readiness.

The Pentagon reversed course and dropped the vaccine mandate in 2023 following a decision by Congress. At that time, it stopped separating troops who had not received the shot. Roughly 99% of the active-duty Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force had been vaccinated and around 98% of the Army. Guard and Reserve rates were lower but over 90%.