US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has removed nine officers from a promotion list, The New York Times reported. Hegseth removed at least three women, two Black men, and four white men from the promotion list.
Despite women making up 21% of active-duty Navy personnel, no female officers made the May list. Only two nonwhite officers were included, though 38% of the force identify as racial minorities. The final 22-person slate of one-star admiral nominees lacked diversity and bore little resemblance to the broader force these officers will help lead.
Four current and former defence officials, speaking anonymously to the portal, said Hegseth’s actions appear to violate rules for the apolitical, merit-based promotion system. The officials called his removal of officers from the one-star list “highly unusual.”
Pentagon rules state the defence secretary should only pull officers for moral, mental, physical, or professional failings that raise fitness-to-lead concerns.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell denied the NYT report in a statement on X. He called the “failing” outlet full of “radical left reporters” and labelled its work “race-baiting garbage.”
“They continue to push this worn-out narrative because they view almost everything through the lens of race and gender over merit. As we’ve said before, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. The Department will never consider the colour of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions. Under President Trump and @SecWar Hegseth, meritocracy reigns supreme at the War Department,” he added.
More race-baiting garbage from the Failing New York Times and its radical left reporters.
They continue to push this worn out narrative because they view almost everything through the lens of race and gender over merit.
As we’ve said before, military promotions are given to… https://t.co/miTvWEbLiC
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) June 1, 2026
“Military promotions are given to those who have earned them,” Parnell also told The New York Times. “The department will never consider the colour of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions.”
In March, the outlet reported that Hegseth blocked the promotions of two women Army officers and two Black Army officers to one-star generals.
