In a move that disproportionately targets women and minority officers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of at least seven Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior Navy admirals.
In a slate of 22 nominees to be one-star generals, two of the seven blocked were women and two are Black men. Additionally three white men were blocked.
No female officers were included on the new one-star list, which was released publicly in late May, despite the fact that women make up about 21 percent of the active-duty Navy. of the active-duty Navy. The list appears to include only two nonwhite officers, even though sailors who identify as racial minorities make up about 38 percent of the active-duty Navy.
Mr. Hegseth’s removal of the officers from the one-star list is highly unusual, said the current and former defense officials. Hegseth’s actions are the latest in a series of firings and personnel interventions that seem to be driven by his anti-diversity politics rather than the performance of officers.
Once Hegseth is gone, and people who deserve promotions are promoted, anyone who is claiming that women and Blacks are being promoted more than they should be better shut up.
What if all the women and Blacks decided to leave the military? Where would the military be and its sexist and racist leader?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/hegseth-navy-promotion-list.html
