Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay the promotions of more than a dozen senior Black and female officers across all four branches of the military, some of whom are believed to have been targeted because of their race, gender or perceived affiliation with Biden administration policies or officials, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.

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The process within the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps is structured to ensure the promotion of the most qualified officers. Hegseth’s decision to intervene in the process raised concerns among some officials in those military branches and at the White House, said the nine U.S. officials familiar with the situation.

“No service has been safe from this level of involvement by Hegseth,” one of the U.S. officials said.

Two of the officials said the military and White House were particularly concerned that Hegseth would block or prevent certain qualified officers from receiving promotions to the general and admiral ranks because of their race or gender, as he targets diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the Pentagon. There are also concerns that Hegseth could target military officers he views as aligned with Biden administration officials or policies, the officials said.

On Thursday, Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, whose term was set to last four years and end in September 2027. George, the senior Army officer, was Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s top military aide during the Biden administration.

George recently requested to meet with Hegseth to discuss Hegseth’s blocking of promotions for some Army officers, which appeared to focus on black women and men, but Hegseth refused to meet with him or discuss his decisions, according to two other U.S. officials.

Hegseth, who last year declared the end of “woke” culture at the Defense Department, has criticized DEI initiatives adopted by the Biden administration, as has President Donald Trump. Hegseth also publicly accused the military of granting promotions based on diversity rather than merit. Not all promotions of female officers or members of racial minority groups were blocked or delayed during his tenure as secretary, four U.S. officials familiar with the process said.

The U.S. military branches did not respond to requests for comment or referred questions to the Pentagon. A Defense Department spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article.

The White House also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Two officials said that among the attributes cited by Hegseth for removing officers from promotions are past support for Covid vaccines or mask mandates for troops, which were enacted under the Biden administration, or whether the officers were affiliated with DEI programs, potentially women or members of racial minority groups, or promoted or worked on such initiatives.

Officials said an officer’s association with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, whom Trump considers a political enemy, can also make an officer up for promotion likely to be scrutinized by Hegseth’s office.

“I think there is no consistency in the application of standards” in terms of promotions, said another American official.

In recent weeks, Hegseth blocked three Marine officers who were to be promoted or reappointed to new roles — two women and a black man — according to five of the U.S. officials familiar with the decision. None of the Marines have been the subject of internal investigations that could raise concerns about their continued promotions, according to two of the officials. Marine Corps leaders recommended their promotions, but Hegseth refused to allow their selections to move forward despite attempts by corps leaders to intervene, both officials said.

A list of naval officers selected for promotion to one-star admiral has been stuck for more than a month while sitting on Hegseth’s desk, according to three of the officials. A promotion list would generally move more quickly through the process, according to the three officials who expressed concern that some of the Navy officers on the list could be removed because of their race or gender.

Hegseth also blocked the promotions of a handful of senior Navy officers, the three officials said.

Other officers were removed from an Air Force promotion list at the direction of Hegseth’s office, according to two of the officials familiar with the process.

Some Navy and Air Force officers whose promotions have been blocked are also women or members of racial minority groups, officials say.

When deciding on promotions, each branch of the military typically convenes a board composed of service members from that branch to review possible candidates for advancement. Councils select candidates for advancement and lists are created for promotions to one-star and two-star general and admiral.

These lists are sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and then to the White House. Ultimately, the Senate votes on each military branch’s slates.

Promotions to the ranks of three- and four-star general and admiral are usually done individually, not through lists, but they are also sent by each military branch to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and then to the White House and Senate for votes.

Defense secretaries generally do not remove officers from promotion lists or reject individual recommendations from service branches, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the process.

By law, the president has the greatest power to block a military promotion, whether it is an individual recommendation or a name on a list. If a recommended promotion is withdrawn before being forwarded to the White House, a reason must be provided, such as an ongoing investigation or allegation regarding an officer’s conduct, and the secretary of defense generally does not make these decisions. Candidates for promotion have been expelled in the past due to allegations made against them or military investigations into them. Those removed from the promotion lists have not been the subject of any open investigation against them, US officials said.

The Army’s promotion list this year included about 30 officers destined to become one-star generals and was sent to the White House around mid-March and then to the Senate on Monday, but only after Hegseth crossed out all four names, according to five U.S. officials.

While Hegseth removed two women and two black officers from the Army roster, the list that progressed to the Senate included women and racial minority officers, according to the five officials, who said they believed race and gender played a role in Hegseth’s removal of the other officers.

“If there are no allegations or open investigations, why were they removed from the list? » said one of the officials. “They have all been deployed and done their jobs, and all are combat tested. »

The New York Times first reported that Hegseth was blocking promotions of female or minority officers in the military..

According to Department of Defense data from 2024, the most recent available, 80% of active duty military personnel are men. Overall, 67% are white; 18% are black. About 80% of active duty officers are men. Overall, 74% of officers are white; only 9% are black.

During Hegseth’s tenure, several high-ranking military officers were removed, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs CQ Brown Jr., a black man, and former Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, a white woman. From Hegseth and his team’s perspective, they were not aligned with the Trump administration’s priorities, according to two U.S. officials.

A retired senior officer described the promotion process as rigorous and said any interference from the defense secretary could diminish confidence in that process.

“Our officer corps trusts our promotion process,” the retired officer said, adding that intervening in the process without explanation “will definitely cast a shadow over our officer corps, as everything they have said, done and written during their career could be politicized in a way that ends their career with the stroke of a pen.”