Pete Hegseth: The Secretary of Defense is apparently blocking promotions for minorities and women.Image: keystone
Several high-ranking officers are waiting in vain for promotion. Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is suspected of deliberately intervening.
April 4, 2026, 10:57 p.mApril 4, 2026, 10:57 p.m
Marisa Lattemann / t-online
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has apparently taken action to block or delay senior promotions for more than a dozen black and female officers in the US military. Some of them could targeted because of their skin color, their gender or a presumed proximity to the political positions of the Joe Biden government may have been targeted, NBC News reported, citing nine U.S. officials familiar with the process.
Actually, the most qualified officers should be promoted within the US Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. Hegseth has now apparently intervened in the process that is supposed to ensure this, which is said to have caused concern among some responsible people within the armed forces and in the White House.
Hegseth blocked the promotion or appointment of three Marines – two women and a black man. According to NBC, none of them were the focus of internal investigations or anything similar that would justify the action. The Marine Corps leadership had recommended her promotion, but Hegseth did not allow it despite interventions.
“There is not a single branch of the armed forces that has been spared from this level of influence by Hegseth.”one of the US officials told NBC. Others said there was concern, particularly within the military and the White House, that Hegseth was blocking or delaying promotions based on race or gender while simultaneously targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Pentagon. There are also concerns that Hegseth is specifically targeting military personnel who he associates with the Biden government. According to NBC, Hegseth used previous support for corona vaccinations and mask requirements in the US military as reasons for canceling promotions.
General Randy George: He was fired by the Secretary of Defense. (archive image)Image: keystone
Hegseth dismisses powerful critic
On Thursday, Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, whose term was supposed to last four years – until September 2027. George, the Army’s highest-ranking officer, served as chief military adviser to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration. He had also recently requested a meeting with Hegseth to discuss his block on promotions, which appeared to be focused on women and black men. However, according to NBC information, Hegseth declined a meeting or a discussion about it.
Hegseth, who announced the end of a “woken” culture in the Defense Department last year, has repeatedly criticized the Biden administration’s DEI initiatives. Hegseth also publicly accused the military of awarding promotions based on diversity criteria rather than performance. Not all promotions of women or ethnic minorities were blocked or delayed during his term, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the process.
The Defense Ministry did not initially comment, but after publication described the report as false. «This story is full of fake news from anonymous sources, who have no idea what they are talking about and are far removed from the actual decision-makers in the Pentagon,” said Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on Friday. “Under Minister Hegseth, military promotions are awarded to those who deserve them. The performance principle that applies in this ministry is apolitical and impartial.”
Typically, each branch of the armed forces decides on promotions through a committee of relatives that examines candidates. The selected names are then forwarded to the White House via the Chief of Staff and the Defense Department before the Senate votes on them. Defense ministers usually do not intervene.