Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth removed the names of two Black and two female officers from a military promotions list, raising concerns about possible bias, according to a new report released on Friday.
The New York Times published a detailed report, based on statements from 11 current and former military officials, saying Hegseth’s chief of staff told a military leader that President Donald Trump “doesn’t want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events.”
The promotions list includes officers who are eligible for promotion to one-star general.
Around 30 names are reportedly on the list, but Hegseth wanted to remove four. Two of those individuals are Black, and the other two are women.
Hegseth reportedly removed two of the four names because of past comments or performance.
One was a Black armor officer who wrote a paper over a decade ago about why Black service members historically ended up in support roles instead of frontline positions. Another was a female logistics officer who was linked to the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members. Hegseth described the operation as a disaster.
Some military insiders have raised questions about whether Hegseth has the legal authority to remove names from promotion lists.
Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll reportedly refused Hegseth’s requests, according to the report, and had a meeting with Hegseth’s chief of staff, during which a controversial statement was reportedly made.
Ricky Buria, Hegseth’s chief of staff, and Driscoll reportedly had a tense conversation last summer when Buria pushed Driscoll on his decision to promote Maj. Gen. Antoinette R. Gant to lead the Military District of Washington.
“Mr. Buria told Mr. Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events,” the officials said, according to the Times report.
Gant was eventually put in charge and was recently promoted to a two-star general.
“The president is not a racist or sexist,” Driscoll reportedly said to Buria.
Buria denied the tense interaction, calling it “completely false.”
“Whoever placed this made-up story is clearly trying to sow division among our ranks in the department and the administration,” he said.
“It’s not going to work, and it will never work when this department is led by clear-eyed, mission-driven leaders unfazed by fake Washington gossip.”
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