The process within the Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the Marines is structured to ensure the most qualified officers get promoted. Hegseth’s decision to intervene in the process has raised concerns among some officials within those military branches and the White House, the nine U.S. officials familiar with the situation said.
“There is not a single service that has been immune to this level of involvement by Hegseth,” one of the U.S. officials said.
Two of the officials said there are concerns in the military and the White House specifically that Hegseth is blocking or stalling some qualified officers from receiving promotions through the ranks of general and admiral because of their race or gender as he targets diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the Pentagon. There is also concern that Hegseth could be singling out military officers whom he views as aligned with officials or policies of the Biden administration, the officials said.
On Thursday Hegseth fired the Army chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, whose term was expected to be four years ending in September 2027. George, the Army’s top officer, was senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration.
George recently asked to meet with Hegseth to discuss Hegseth’s blocking of promotions for some Army officers, which seemed to focus on women and Black men, but Hegseth refused to meet or discuss his decisions, according to two additional U.S. officials.
Hegseth, who declared an end to “woke” culture at the Defense Department last year, has criticized DEI initiatives adopted by the Biden administration, as has President Donald Trump. Hegseth also has publicly accused the military of awarding promotions based on diversity rather than merit. Not all promotions for officers who are women or members of racial minority groups have been blocked or delayed during his tenure as secretary, four of the U.S. officials familiar with the process said.
The U.S. military branches either did not respond to requests for comment or referred questions to the Pentagon. A spokesperson for the Defense Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article, but after it was published, said the story was false.
“This story is full of fake news from anonymous sources who have no idea what they’re talking about and are far removed from actual decision-makers within the Pentagon,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Friday. “Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. Meritocracy, which reigns in this Department, is apolitical and unbiased.”
The White House also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Two officials said that among the attributes Hegseth has cited for removing officers from promotions are past support for Covid vaccines or mask mandates for troops, which were enacted during the Biden administration, or whether officers were affiliated with DEI programs, potentially being women or members of racial minority groups, or promoted or worked on such initiatives.
The officials said an officer’s association with former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, whom Trump views as a political enemy, can also make an officer who is up for a promotion susceptible to scrutiny from Hegseth’s office.
“I think there is not consistency being applied to the standards” for promotions, another of the U.S. officials said.
In recent weeks, Hegseth blocked three Marine officers who were expected to be promoted or appointed 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 were the subjects of internal investigations that might raise concerns about moving forward with their 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 the corps’ leadership to intervene, the two officials said.
A list of naval officers who had been selected to be promoted to one-star admiral has been held up for more than a month as it sits on Hegseth’s desk, according to three of the officials. A list of promotions typically would move through the process more quickly, 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 has also blocked promotions for a handful of more senior naval officers, the three officials said.
Other officers have been pulled off a list of Air Force promotions at the direction of Hegseth’s office, according to two of the officials familiar with the process.
Some of the naval and Air Force officers whose promotions have been blocked are also women or members of racial minority groups, according to officials.
