06/03/2026
Pete Hegseth has done it again. Earlier this year, Hegseth removed four colonels, two Black men and two women, from the Army’s list of nominees for one-star general over the objections of Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll. In late May, as part of his ongoing quest to reverse years of “gender and demographic engineering” he insists have blunted military effectiveness and the “lethality” of U.S. troops, Pete Hegseth denied promotions to at least seven one-star admiral candidates in the Navy. Two are women and two are Black men. The final list of 22 promotion candidates has no women and only two men of color. Since women make up 21% of the active duty Navy and 38% are racial minorities, the final list is not representative of Navy personnel.
Military rules provide limited provisions for the Defense Secretary to remove names from the promotion lists. Hegseth hasn't given any reasons, but critics believe that his highly unusual actions, which in their eyes appear to amount to a purge of women and Black men from the highest officer ranks, are probably violating the rules of the promotion system. Hegseth has also fired several senior level military officers during his tenure, about 60% of whom are women or Black men. Only about 20% of generals and admirals are now women or Black men. Past and current military officials report that morale and trust are low and anxiety is high in the top ranks under Hegseth's mercurial rule.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/hegseth-navy-promotion-list.html?unlocked_article_code=1.nFA.AQxU.owCrHGWA92ib&smid=url-share
