Hegseth Criticized for Removing Four Officers From Promotion List
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- Senator Jack Reed criticized Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for blocking the promotion of four Army officers—two Black men and two women—to one-star generals, calling it a violation of military promotion rules based on merit.
- Military officials state that after a service board approves a promotion list, the defense secretary should not intervene, but Hegseth pressed Army leaders to remove the four officers from the list for months.
- Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll refused to remove the officers, citing their exemplary service records, but Hegseth ultimately struck their names from the list unilaterally, raising questions about his legal authority to do so.
- Hegseth announced that President Trump approved a revised list of 29 Army colonels to be promoted, excluding the four officers initially blocked.
