U.S. General Xavier T. Brunson shakes hands with a U.S. Army soldier in Yeoncheon, South Korea, March 14, 2026. REUTERS/Kim Soo-hyeon
When Pete Hegseth took over as defense secretary on January 25, 2025, it was obvious that he would be much different from Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III (who held that position under former President Joe Biden) or former CIA Director Leon Panetta (who served as defense secretary in the Obama Administration). Hegseth brought a heavy culture-war focus to the Pentagon, vowing to rid the military of "wokeness" and DEI (diversity, equity and included) and replace it with a "warrior ethos."
Hegseth's critics argue that his culture-war obsessions are a distraction from what should be the Pentagon's top priority: national defense. Now, the former Fox News host is drawing scrutiny for blocking the promotions of four U.S. Army officers to one-star generals.
In an article published early Friday morning, March 27, New York Times reporters Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper and Adam Entous stress that blocking the promotions is a "highly unusual move" for a defense secretary and "has prompted some senior military officials to question whether the officers are being singled out because of their race or gender."
According to the Times journalists, "Two of the officers targeted by Mr. Hegseth are Black and two are women on a promotion list that consists of about three dozen officers, most of whom are white men, senior military officials said. Mr. Hegseth had been pressing senior Army leaders, including Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, for months to remove the officers' names, military officials said. But Mr. Driscoll, citing the officers’ decades-long records of exemplary service, had repeatedly refused."
Jaffe, in a March 27 post on X, formerly Twitter, wrote, "Over the objections of top Army leaders Hegseth has removed 2 Black and 2 female officers from one-star promotion list."
According to the Times reporters, Ricky Buria, Hegseth's chief of staff, " told Mr. Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events, the officials said."
The journalists note that "it is exceedingly rare that a one-star list draws such intense scrutiny from a defense secretary."
"This article is based on interviews with 11 current and former military and administration officials who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters," according to Jaffe, Schmitt, Cooper and Entous. "The frustrations with Mr. Hegseth's approach came to a boil last summer during a heated exchange between Ricky Buria, Mr. Hegseth's chief of staff, and Mr. Driscoll about a separate promotion…. Senior officials in Mr. Hegseth's office have been debating for months whether Mr. Hegseth has the legal authority to strike names from a one-star list before he sends it to the White House, military officials said."
