Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon on March 19.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intervened to block the promotions of four Army officers on track to become one-star generals, two Black and two female soldiers, NPR has confirmed.
Hegseth took the highly unusual step of interfering in a routine promotion process, according to a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly, as first reported in The New York Times. A second US official, not authorized to speak publicly, also confirmed that Hegseth is ousting senior officials deemed ideologically inconsistent.
Before his appointment by the Trump administration, Hegseth wrote books criticizing the US military and suggesting that diversity in the ranks had weakened the force.
Since taking office, Hegseth has led a major reorganization of the Pentagon, including the widespread dismissal of four-star admirals and generals. In his book, Hegseth questions the dismissal of Joint Chiefs Chairman General C.Q. Brown, the second African American to hold that post. war on warriors Whether Brown got the job on merit or on the basis of his race. Hegseth also fired Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to hold the Navy’s top uniformed job. In both cases, no explanation was given for their removal.
In a statement to NPR, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the reporting “fake news”, and said, “Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. The meritocracy that reigns in this department is apolitical and impartial.”
Senator Jack Reed, DRI Said he is investigating the allegations as ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“If these reports are true, Secretary Hegseth’s decision to remove four respected officers from the promotion list after being selected by their peers based on their qualifications and performance is not only outrageous, it would also be illegal,” Reed said in a statement. “Denying promotion to individual officers on the basis of their race or gender would be a betrayal of every tenet of the merit-based service military officers stand for throughout their careers.”
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