Overview
- NBC News reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked or delayed promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four services, citing nine U.S. officials.
- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand asked the Senate Armed Services Committee to hold a closed hearing and to obtain records on the holds, saying reports allege ideology or bias rather than performance drove some decisions.
- Hegseth took the unusual step of striking four officers from an Army one-star list, a move The New York Times described as highly atypical because promotion slates are normally approved or rejected in full to limit politics.
- U.S. and congressional officials told NBC News the actions have raised concern inside the White House, the Pentagon, and on Capitol Hill, and Sen. Jack Reed warned that race- or gender-based denials would violate federal law.
- The Congressional Black Caucus and the Democratic Women’s Caucus said the interference fits a broader rollback of diversity efforts, and commentators note recent removals have left the military without a woman at four-star rank.