Overview
- In a letter to Secretary Pete Hegseth, Rep. Tom Suozzi urged reconsideration of a blanket shave rule that he says could sideline observant Sikhs and others with religious or medical needs.
- Pentagon leaders have moved to tighten grooming standards in recent months, and no broad policy reversal has been announced.
- Suozzi pointed to Hegseth’s recent pledge to enforce stricter appearance rules, including the remark, “No more beardos,” as the context for growing constituent concerns.
- He warned that forced shaving can cause pseudofolliculitis barbae, a painful condition that disproportionately affects Black service members.
- The letter argues that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows high standards to be maintained through reasonable, case-by-case religious and medical waivers, and notes Suozzi’s bipartisan Indian American Heritage Resolution with Rep. Young Kim condemning discrimination.