Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has some explaining to do after new reports show he blocked four Army officers from being promoted. While Hegseth does have the authority to promote and strike down promotions at his discretion, critics are raising alarms, given the fact that the officers in question are either women or Black.
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It’s no secret that Secretary Hegseth is an avid supporter of President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) campaign. Last year, he praised Trump’s executive order banning DEI at the federal level.
“This administration has done a great deal since Day 1 to remove the social justice, politically correct, toxic ideological garbage that had infected our department,” Hegseth said. “No more identity months, DEI offices, or dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction of gender delusions. No more debris. As I’ve said before and will say, we are done with that sh*t.”
Fast forward to now, when military officials told The New York Times that Hegseth is targeting Army officials who– according to his standards– fit the DEI description. When presented with a promotion list of about 36 officers, the secretary singled out two female officers and two Black officers. But according to reports, he’s been trying to block their promotions for months.
“Mr. Hegseth had been pressing senior Army leaders, including Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, for months to remove the officers’ names,” according to the Times. Driscoll, on the other hand, has fought back while advocating for the officers’ outstanding reputations and service records.
One Black officer and combat veteran was cut from Hegseth’s promotion list. According to the Times, the officer was targeted for his written paper from 15 years ago analyzing why Black Americans usually opt for support jobs in the Army rather than frontline or combat work.
Another female logistics officer previously served in Afghanistan in 2021 when U.S. troops were controversially withdrawn. She was reportedly denied a promotion based on the– as Hegseth calls it— “disastrous and embarrassing” military removal from the Middle Eastern country, which resulted in 13 troops being killed in a suicide bombing, NPR reported.
It remains unclear why Hegseth denied the other two officers promotions.
After Driscoll, a Republican and MAGA ally, refused to submit to the secretary’s wishes, Hegseth pulled the plug on the four promotions by himself, marking an unusual move by the defense head. The strike apparently came as a complete surprise to Driscoll, who once defended President Trump after a previous report revealed the president took issue with standing next to a Black female officer during military events.
“The president is not a racist or sexist,” Driscoll reportedly responded. While Driscoll and many other MAGA supporters have defended Trump in the face of accusations of racism and bias, the president and his defense secretary aren’t doing a great job at mitigating the damage.
“Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them,” chief spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote in a statement to the New York Times. He assured the public that the Army promotion process is completely “apolitical and unbiased.” However, this wouldn’t be the first time Hegseth has weaponized anti-DEI policy to get what he wants.
Just this February, Hegseth pressured and ultimately forced Scouting America– formerly known as Boy Scouts of America– to completely abandon all DEI initiatives, according to the Department of War official website. He threatened to cut military ties with the over 100-year-old organization, deeming the scouts had become “too woke” after admitting girls– including transgender and other LGBTQ+ youths– and, of course, adopting DEI policies.
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