Pete Hegseth is at the center of a controversy after he removed four Army officers from a promotion list for one-star general. The move has many questioning his reasoning, as very rarely does the Secretary of War step in once the recommendation has been vetted and approved. Now, there are concerns about potential racial and gender discrimination because of who he took off the list.
The New York Times reported that he struck two black and two female officers from the one-star promotion list. The other candidates, who total about 36, are mostly white men, and raises the question if his decision is because the Trump administration wants to change what military leadership looks like. Usually, the process is straightforward, with officers being promoted based on merit. Now, questions arise about whether the process is becoming political.
Hegseth had pinpointed these four officers months ago, and had reportedly pushed for them to be removed. But, Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll stuck to his guns and pointed out that the candidates had strong records and had served in the Army for decades. But his resistance efforts came to an end when Hegseth struck their names off the list anyway.
sentdefender: U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals, two of which are Black and two women on a list of roughly three dozen officers up for promotion, in a highly unusual move that h… pic.twitter.com/5mJZMmmyuv
— Drew Grimaldi (@Grimillionaire) March 27, 2026
Military officials said that this was the first time that they can recall that the Defense Secretary personally got involved and removed names from a promotion list. The move is very unusual and they were surprised by it. Usually, these lists are shielded from political influence so that officers are voted in on merit and so that people can trust the system.
One of the women who was removed from the list was Antoinette R. Gant, a Black female. Hegseth’s chief of staff, Rick Buria, reportedly objected to her name being on the promotion list. Apparently, Buria implied that Trump would not want to appear next to Gant at events as the commander often stands next to the President. Since then, Buria has denied the allegations. “Whoever placed this made up story is clearly trying to sow division among our ranks in the department and the administration,” he said.
Pete Hegseth strikes two black and two female officers from promotion list. https://t.co/KhQdGyb5ne pic.twitter.com/1uA4OS9Tcx
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) March 27, 2026
One of the officers that was removed was a Black combat veteran who wrote an academic paper many years ago on the career patterns among African American officers. Another woman whose name was struck off held her own under pressure when she served her country as a logistics officer when the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan.
Questions arose about about why Hegseth pulled back these particular names. Some believe that the Trump administration are trying to undo diversity policies that other leaderships have introduced. Hegseth has often said that he wants to change the culture’s “foolish” and “woke” ways. The move comes after Hegseth already sidelined or removed more than two dozen senior officers, dismantling programs that would have benefited women and minorities.
Pentagon is standing by their chief and argue that the promotions process has been fair. The department’s chief spokesman Sean Parnell said that the process was “apolitical and unbiased.” He added, “Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them.”
Karoline Leavitt echoed the sentiment, stating that Hegseth was “doing a tremendous job restoring meritocracy throughout the ranks at the Pentagon, as President Trump directed him to do.” Only time will tell what the military services’ leadership will look like in the future.
