US EditionHegseth Removes Two Women and Two Black Men From Military Promotion List: NYT
Hegseth removed two Black and two female officers from a vetted list of about three dozen, raising concerns about potential bias in the Army's promotion process.
- Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth removed four Army officers—two women and two Black men—from a one-star general promotion list earlier this month, a move New York Times reporters describe as 'highly unusual' and prompting military officials to question whether officers were singled out because of race or gender.
- Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll repeatedly refused Hegseth's months-long pressure to remove the names, citing the officers' decades-long exemplary service records, as Hegseth pursued his broader agenda to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion policies since taking office in January 2025.
- According to the report, Hegseth's chief of staff Ricky Buria allegedly told Driscoll last summer that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events during a heated exchange about Major General Antoinette Gant's promotion to commander of the Military District of Washington.
- Senior officials in Hegseth's office have debated whether he possesses legal authority for the unilateral removal; the promotion list now awaits White House review before Senate approval, with journalists noting it is exceedingly rare for a one-star list to draw such scrutiny.
- Hegseth's action aligns with his stated opposition to promotions based on 'immutable characteristics or quotas,' yet critics argue his culture-war focus distracts from Pentagon priorities; the move mirrors last summer's dispute over Major General Antoinette Gant's promotion, which ultimately succeeded after Hegseth's office backed down.
14 Articles
14 Articles
In Unusual Move, Hegseth Blocks 4 Officers' Promotions
The New York Times reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the "exceedingly rare" decision to block the promotion of four Army officers to the status of one-star generals. Defense secretaries rarely get involved in such relatively nitty-gritty decisions, and the move in this case is especially sensitive: Two of...
Star Tribune
Hegseth strikes two Black and two female officers from promotion list
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s highly unusual decision to remove officers from a one-star promotion list has spurred allegations of racial and gender bias.
'Trump wouldn’t want to stand next to Black female officer at military events': DOD official
When Pete Hegseth took over as defense secretary on January 25, 2025, it was obvious that he would be much different from Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III (who held that position under former President Joe Biden) or former CIA Director Leon Panetta (who served as defense secretary in the Obama Administration). Hegseth brought a heavy culture-war focus to the Pentagon, vowing to rid the military of "wokeness" and DEI (diversity, equity and included) and …
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