Pete Hegseth removes all women and some Black service members from navy promotion list

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, removed nine Navy officers, including women and Black service members, from a promotion list last month. This action resulted in an all-male and overwhelmingly white slate of 22 nominees advancing to become one-star admirals.

Hegseth's intervention deviated from the Navy's merit-based and apolitical promotion rules, continuing a trend from the Trump administration to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the military. The original promotion list had included three women and two Black officers besides the two who remained.

A Navy source said the officials were confident in those on the original promotion list, including those removed by Hegseth. However, Hegseth did not provide an explanation for his removals to the Navy. Another government source indicated Hegseth had preferences based on military occupational specialties, gender, and race, selectively removing certain names.

The Pentagon denied that promotions were blocked due to race or gender, stating that promotions are based solely on merit. Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell emphasized that under Hegseth and former President Trump, meritocracy guides military promotions.

This move resembles a similar intervention by Hegseth in March, where he reportedly directed the army secretary to remove two women and two Black officers from an army promotion list. Hegseth has publicly criticized diversity and so-called “woke” policies in the armed forces, advocating for promotions without consideration of race or gender.

Former military officials noted that Hegseth’s direct involvement in individual promotion decisions is unusual and undermines the autonomy of service secretaries, as the defense secretary typically has an up-or-down vote without such meddling.