The New York Times reported Friday, citing eleven current and former senior military and administration officials, that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth intervened to remove four Army officers from a promotion list for one-star generals — two who are Black and two who are women. The promotion list contained roughly three dozen names, the vast majority of them white men. NPR independently confirmed the story. The Army Secretary, Daniel P. Driscoll, refused Hegseth's requests for months, citing the officers' decades-long records of exemplary service. Hegseth broke the impasse earlier this month by simply striking the names himself — a move that several senior military officials believe exceeded his legal authority. Military promotion policy is specifically designed to prevent this: the defense secretary is normally only permitted to approve or reject a promotion list in its entirety, precisely to prevent discrimination against individual officers.
"Mr. Buria told Mr. Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events."
Who the Officers Are, and Why They Were Targeted.
Targeted over a paper he wrote more than fifteen years ago examining why Black service members historically have tended to choose support roles over frontline combat positions. The paper was an act of academic inquiry into a documented military phenomenon. Hegseth's team treated it as evidence of ideological contamination.
Served during the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Current and former military officials told the Times she performed her job well under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Hegseth — who has called the withdrawal a disaster — targeted her for it anyway.
One in logistics, one a finance specialist. No reason has been given for their removal from the promotion list. Both are women. Their decades of service records were not disputed. They were removed anyway.
The Statement That Should End Careers.
Separately from the four blocked promotions, the Times reported on a confrontation last summer between Hegseth's chief of staff, Ricky Buria, and Army Secretary Driscoll over the promotion of Major General Antoinette R. Gant — a Black combat engineer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan — to lead the Military District of Washington. In that role, Gant would have performed ceremonial duties including appearing alongside the president at Arlington National Cemetery. Buria told Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events. Three current and former defense and administration officials confirmed this exchange to the Times. Driscoll, to his credit, pushed back immediately. He told Buria: "The president is not a racist or sexist." He then protested Buria's statement to a senior White House official. Gant's promotion proceeded. She was promoted to two-star rank earlier this year and has since appeared alongside Trump at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Buria denies the exchange occurred. Three officials say it did.
This Is a Pattern, Not an Incident.
What happened to these four officers is not an isolated decision. It is the conclusion of a systematic campaign that Hegseth began the moment he took office. The chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all five service chiefs, and nine of the military's ten combatant commanders are now white men. That is not an accident. Here is what Hegseth has done since taking over:
- Gen. CQ Brown — fired as Joint Chiefs Chairman. Only the second African American to hold the job. Hegseth had written in his book questioning whether Brown got the position by merit or his race. No explanation given for the firing.
- Adm. Lisa Franchetti — fired as Chief of Naval Operations. The first woman to hold the Navy's top uniformed position. No explanation given.
- Air Force Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short — removed as senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
- Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield — the sole female flag officer on NATO's Military Committee. Removed.
- Vice Adm. Yvette Davids — the first female superintendent of the Naval Academy. Relocated from her post.
- In total: at least two dozen generals and admirals fired or sidelined, the Times found. Disproportionately women and officers of color.
The Pentagon's Response.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the Times reporting "fake news" and said: "Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. Meritocracy, which reigns in this Department, is apolitical and unbiased." This statement was issued on behalf of an administration that removed the second-ever Black Joint Chiefs Chairman, the first-ever female CNO, the first-ever female Naval Academy superintendent — and has now blocked the promotion of four officers whose race or gender matches the pattern of every other removal Hegseth has made since Day 1. The statement uses the word "meritocracy" to describe a process that removed a Black armor officer partly because of an academic paper he wrote about the military's own historical data. The paper described reality. Hegseth punished him for it.
This post distinguishes between documented facts, allegations, and analysis. Where motive, intent, corruption, or illegality remains disputed in the public record, the text attributes that judgment to court findings, official records, direct quotes, or the reporting linked below.
- NPR: Independent confirmation; Hegseth "weeding out senior officers deemed ideologically incompatible"; legal authority questioned; full pattern of firings documented.
- The Hill: Three-dozen-name promotion list context; Buria-Driscoll confrontation over Gant confirmed by three current and former officials; armor officer paper detail; Afghanistan logistics officer detail.
- The New Republic: Legal authority analysis — defense secretary normally may only approve/reject entire list to prevent discrimination; Driscoll's months of refusal; Gant's promotion proceeding and Trump appearance at Arlington documented.
- The Daily Beast: Buria background; White House previously blocked him from the chief of staff role; Gant's Veterans Day appearance with Trump at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.