Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been accused of tanking the promotion of several Navy officers, including women and Black servicemembers, while attempting to promote candidates from his inner circle. Current and former U.S. officials have alleged that the Pentagon chief removed at least eight Navy captains from consideration for promotion to one-star admiral, despite them already being selected by Navy promotion boards.
Pete Hegseth intervenes in promotion of Navy officers
According to reports, Hegseth has intervened in multiple Navy promotion lists, delaying appointments and fueling concerns about whether anti-DEI ideology is overtaking the Pentagon and the military’s traditional merit-based system.
Hegseth’s intervention in Navy promotions is highly unusual, as promotion boards are designed to operate independently under Pentagon rules. Typically, defense secretaries only remove names from the list of consideration for serious concerns involving conduct, mental fitness or professional failings. Instead, officials familiar with the process said several officers appeared to have been removed from consideration for promotion because of past involvement in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. One female officer reportedly drew scrutiny after being identified online as having served as a “diversity liaison officer” nearly two decades ago.
Notably, the final promotion slate released publicly on May 22 included 22 nominees for one-star admiral — and no women. This absence reportedly continues a broader trend. According to the military publication Task & Purpose, the Navy has not promoted a woman from captain to rear admiral since June 2025, despite women making up roughly 21% of active-duty sailors.
Pete Hegseth accused of pushing the promotion of allies
According to officials, Hegseth pushed senior Navy leaders to consider Capt. William Francis Jr. — a Navy SEAL currently serving as Hegseth’s special military assistant — for promotion despite the officer having been passed over multiple times previously. Sources also said Francis lacks the required command experience needed for eligibility.
One current official claimed Hegseth believes Francis had previously been denied advancement because he is “a white man.” Notably, when asked during a House hearing whether he had ordered the Navy to add an ineligible special operations officer to the promotion list, Hegseth replied, “I’m not aware of what you’re referring to.”
Critics accuse Pentagon boss of politicizing promotions
According to reports, there have been questions about whether Hegseth is using the Navy promotion process to install officers aligned with his own worldview while sidelining others. Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned during a recent hearing that servicemembers are “confused and disturbed” by the Pentagon chief’s actions. “That is a betrayal of the merit-based system that forms the foundation of our military,” Reed said. “You are hollowing out the military’s bench of experienced and highest-performing senior officers while making young officers wonder if they should continue to serve.”
Officials also pointed out that nearly 60% of the senior officers terminated or sidelined since Hegseth took office have been women or Black officers, even as those groups make up fewer than 20% of generals and admirals overall. Among the senior figures dismissed during Hegseth’s tenure are Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman ever to lead the Navy.
Pentagon maintains that Hegseth’s decisions are based on merit
Pentagon officials denied the insinuation that race or gender played any role in the defense secretary’s decisions. “As we’ve said before, military promotions are given to those who have earned them,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement. “The department will never consider the color of a servicemember’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions. Under President [Donald] Trump and Secretary Hegseth, meritocracy reigns supreme at the War Department,” he added.
Hegseth has repeatedly argued that previous administrations promoted officers partly to satisfy diversity goals. Biden-era officials have strongly denied those claims, insisting promotion decisions were based strictly on performance and qualifications.
Critics argue that the current Pentagon chief has provided little transparency about why several officers were removed from promotion lists. During a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. Austin Scott pressed Army leaders about whether Hegseth had personally removed officers from promotion lists. “Well, if I could get anybody over there to respond, I would,” Scott replied after reportedly receiving no direct explanation.