Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers [View all]

Source: NBC News

National Security

Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers

The defense secretary's efforts to block or delay promotions to general or admiral for some officers has raised concerns that he may be targeting them because of race, gender or affiliation with the Biden administration, sources say.


-------- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a news briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday.Win McNamee / Getty Images

April 2, 2026, 8:40 PM EDT
By Gordon Lubold and Courtney Kube

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, some of whom are seen as having been targeted because of their race, gender or perceived affiliation with Biden administration policies or officials, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.

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.

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Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-intervened-military-promotions-dozen-senior-officers-rcna266062

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I hope this isn't a dupe. Duck duck go turns "Hegseth" into either "he teeth" or "nevertheless." "He teeth" is actually appropriate.

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NEW: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.

Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers
The defense secretary’s efforts to block or delay promotions to general or admiral for some officers has raised concerns that he may be targeting them because of race, gender or affiliation with the B...
www.nbcnews.com
8:52 PM · Apr 2, 2026
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NEW: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken steps to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military, according to nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.

— NBC News (@nbcnews.com) 2026-04-03T00:52:22.345Z