Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reported to have blocked the promotions of at least seven officers, including two women and two Black officers, from advancing to the Navy’s one-star admirals list, according to various reports.
Women represent 21% of the active-duty Navy, while people of color make up 38%. Yet, among the 22 candidates for promotion, only two non-white officers were selected, with no women included, as reported by The New York Times on Monday.
Even though senior Navy admirals recommend promotions, Hegseth has consistently blocked some of these recommendations, allegedly due to political reasons. A similar move was seen in March, when Hegseth blocked the promotions of two Black army officers and two women army officers to one-star generals, resulting in a promotion list dominated by white men.
As per The Wall Street Journal, Hegseth has also played a role in firing or blocking the promotions of at least 24 admirals and generals.
Additionally, Hegseth has been pushing for the promotion of Capt. William Francis Jr., a Navy SEAL who serves as his special military assistant. The WSJ noted that Francis has been repeatedly overlooked by previous promotion boards.
Hegseth has been a vocal critic of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, and has openly stated his belief that women should not serve in combat roles, although he has recently softened this stance. He has also called for following a “warrior ethos” instead of what he terms “woke garbage” in the military.
Hegseth’s actions and statements suggest a pattern of excluding minority and female officers from promotions if they do not align with his right-wing views, while attempting to place his close allies in positions of power.
The Pentagon has denied these allegations.
“As we’ve said before, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. The Department will never consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions. Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, meritocracy reigns supreme at the War Department,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told JS.
In April, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the leading Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, cautioned that Hegseth was undermining the military’s merit-based system.
“This intervention would run counter to the law, longstanding practice, and tradition that accessions and promotions within the military services be based on ‘individual merit and demonstrated performance,’” Reed told NBC News.
The Navy declined JS’s request for comment.
