Defence Secretary Hegseth Blocks Promotions of Four Officers, Sparking Controversy
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly intervened to block the military promotions of four officers – two Black men and two women – who were slated to become one-star generals. According to a report from the New York Times, Hegseth removed the officers' names from a promotion list that originally included about three dozen individuals, most of whom are white men, though a few women and Black officers remain.
Alleged Removal of Officers' Names
The New York Times states that Hegseth initially asked army leaders, including Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, to remove the four officers from the list. When Driscoll reportedly refused, citing the officers' decades-long exemplary records, Hegseth took matters into his own hands and excised their names himself. It remains unclear whether the defence secretary possesses the authority to make such selective exclusions, as military policy typically requires the defence secretary to approve or reject the entire list to prevent politicisation of the officer corps.
White House Review and Pentagon Response
The revised promotion list, now excluding the four officers, is currently under review by the White House before being sent to the Senate for final approval. Ordinarily, the names on one-star promotion lists are kept confidential until Senate approval. In response to the allegations, Chief Pentagon Spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed the New York Times report as "full of fake news" in an email to the Guardian. He asserted that under Secretary Hegseth, promotions are awarded based on meritocracy, which he described as apolitical and unbiased. Similarly, Ricky Buria, Hegseth's chief of staff, labelled the report "completely false".
Hegseth's Tenure and Previous Actions
Hegseth's leadership at the Pentagon has been characterised by his vigorous campaign against what he terms a "woke" culture inherited from previous administrations. Despite stating in September that promotions would no longer be based on "immutable characteristics or quotas", he has faced criticism for seemingly scrutinising the merits of non-white and non-male officers more heavily. In a speech last November, Hegseth argued, "For too long, we've promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons – based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts."
His tenure has seen several high-profile reassignments and dismissals, including:
- Reassigning Vice Admiral Yvette Davids, the first woman to lead the US Naval Academy.
- Dismissing Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield as the US military representative to the NATO Military Committee.
- Removing Admiral Linda Fagan as Chief of Naval Operations.
Hegseth has also pledged to remove female officers from combat roles and banned transgender individuals from serving in the military.
Previous Promotion Controversies
This incident is not the first promotion-related controversy since the new administration took office in 2025. Last summer, Major General Antoinette R. Gant was selected to command the Military District of Washington. According to the New York Times, Buria allegedly told Driscoll that former President Donald Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events. Driscoll reportedly pushed back, insisting that the "president is not a racist or sexist". Buria denied this account, calling it a "made up story" intended to sow division.
Hegseth's Stance in His Book
In his 2024 book, The War on Warriors, Hegseth wrote, "The Left captured the military quickly, and we must reclaim it at a faster pace. We must wage a frontal assault. A swift counterattack in broad daylight." This rhetoric underscores his commitment to reshaping the military's culture, which continues to fuel debates over diversity, equity, and merit in promotions.
