The defense secretary was defending anti-DEI policies at the Iowa State Fair when he made the remark on Monday, Aug. 17

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a transphobic slur during a speech at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines on Monday, Aug. 17.

Hegseth, 46, was speaking in support of Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn’s reelection campaign at the Operation Top Nunn: Salute to the Troops military fundraiser at the fair when he made the remark, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.

Bringing up anti-DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) changes made at the Department of Defense, now known as the Department of War since President Donald Trump began his second term, he said, “At the Department of War, we do training, not t——-,” per the outlet and a video shared by CNN.

He continued, “It is a day-and-night difference. Training, lethality, accountability, discipline, readiness — the bedrock of what it means to be an American warrior — is the only focus of our department. Colorblind, gender-neutral, merit-based. That’s it. We want the best.”

The Pentagon didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment.

As defense secretary, Hegseth has overseen policies restricting transgender people from serving in the military. The Pentagon has directed the military to stop accepting transgender recruits, as well as halting procedures linked to gender transition and saying openly transgender service members could face separation processes.

In June, a federal appeals court panel ruled that the policy banning trans people from serving was likely unconstitutional, per Politico, though the Supreme Court had previously allowed enforcement to continue while the case proceeded.

More recently, a federal judge questioned a new policy to screen soldiers aged 30 and above for testosterone deficiencies, while citing hormone treatment as a reason trans people could be disqualified from military service, The Guardian reported.

Hegseth was a special guest at Monday’s fundraiser, held at the JR’s SouthPork Ranch restaurant. It was originally scheduled for March, but was postponed shortly after the deaths of two soldiers from Iowa in an Iranian strike on a facility in Kuwait, per the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Hegseth said that he and Trump had been at the Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for either all or “near all” of the transfers of U.S. soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran, “because I want to see and understand firsthand the cost, the sacrifice when we send our men and women into harm’s way,” the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported.

He spoke of the “cost” of “defending your country” in his speech, as well as saying, “I’m not willing to look my kids in the eye and say, ‘We had a chance to do something about it, but we didn’t,’ ” per the outlet.

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While endorsing Nunn as he prepares to face Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott for reelection in Iowa’s 3rd District in November’s midterm elections, Hegseth said he would continue to support Trump’s plans for the military.

“President Trump needs the type of leaders who understand why a $1.5 trillion budget, a one-time generational investment, is what is necessary to ensure that my kids and your kids, that your grandkids and my grandkids, live in a free country, defended by the most powerful military in the world,” he said, according to Iowa Capital Dispatch.