Defense secretary’s latest interposition resulted in all-male, overwhelmingly white picks for promotion to admiralty
The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, stripped nine navy officers including women and Black service members from a promotion list last month, according to a person familiar with the matter, resulting in an all-male, overwhelmingly white slate of 22 advancing as nominees to become one-star admirals.
Hegseth’s unusual intervention violated promotion rules designed to be merit-based and apolitical, the New York Times said on Tuesday, and extended the Trump administration’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the military.
The original promotion list included three women and two Black officers in addition to the two who remained, the newspaper said.
Sure but that’s not what they said; this person very specifically said women being removed is the reason hot meals are not being served. I’m happy for you that it didn’t feel sexist to you, but it did to me, and I felt like that needed to be pointed out.