Pete Hegseth Accused of Blocking Promotions of a Dozen Officers Due to Race, Gender: Report

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is accused of having intervened to block or delay the promotions of more than a dozen senior military officers in actions that some officials believe were motivated by race, gender, and perceived ties to the Biden administration.

The interventions span all four branches of the armed forces, nine officials familiar with the situation told NBC News on Thursday. Two of those officials also reportedly expressed concern that Hegseth’s repeated disruption of that process may be politically or ideologically driven.

“There is not a single service that has been immune to this level of involvement by Hegseth,” one official told the network.

The promotion system is typically structured to elevate the most qualified candidates through independent review boards.

Some officials said there is growing unease that qualified officers are being stalled because of their association with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives or policies enacted under the previous administration. Others cited scrutiny over officers’ support for Covid-era mandates or perceived links to former Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley.

Recent cases include three Marine officers — two women and a Black man — whose promotions were blocked despite recommendations and no ongoing investigations. In the Army, four officers — two women and two Black candidates — were removed from a promotion list before it advanced to the Senate.

Officials said such interventions are highly unusual and defense secretaries do not typically remove names from promotion lists, especially in the absence of misconduct or formal inquiries.

“If there are no open allegations or investigations, what was the reason they were removed from the list?” one official asked. “They have all deployed and done their jobs, and all are all combat-tested.”

Military branches either declined to comment or directed inquiries to the Pentagon, which did not respond to repeated requests for comment by NBC News. The network added that the White House also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The allegations were published the same day that Hegseth fired the army’s chief of staff, General Randy George, who, according to The New York Times, had clashed with the defense secretary’s bid to block promotions and refused to remove individuals on request.

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