WASHINGTON — A group of Democratic senators is demanding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explain his decision-making process and rationale for denying promotions to certain members of the military.
In a letter to the secretary Monday, they expressed concern over reports that he had personally removed qualified officers from U.S. Navy promotions and that his actions were affecting morale in the armed services.
What You Need To Know
A group of Democratic senators is demanding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explain his decision-making process and rationale for denying promotions to certain members of the military
In a letter to the secretary, they expressed concern over reports that he had personally removed qualified officers from U.S. Navy promotions and that his actions were affecting morale in the armed services
“It is imperative that the decision to promote an Officer is made in accordance with the law, established military personnel policies and regulations, and the principles of a professional, apolitical military,” the senators wrote in a letter to Hegseth on Monday
Earlier this year, the Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth intervened in June to strike nine from the list, including three women and two Black men, according to a defense official
“The promotion system for General Officers is intended to promote personnel with leadership, operational, and institutional knowledge that will provide useful expertise to not only the military but the elected leadership of this nation,” the senators wrote in the letter. “These promotions are based on merit, qualifications, and the needs of the U.S. Armed Forces.”
The letter was signed by Sens. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
“It is imperative that the decision to promote an Officer is made in accordance with the law, established military personnel policies and regulations, and the principles of a professional, apolitical military,” they wrote.
Earlier this year, the Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth intervened in June to strike nine from the list, including three women and two Black men, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not permitted to be released publicly.
As a result, the Navy is not promoting a single woman to the one-star admiral rank this year even though women make up about one-quarter of all Navy officers and nearly one-third of the sea service’s midgrade ranks, according to military data from 2024.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s top spokesman, said on social media last month that “military promotions are given to those who have earned them” and that the Pentagon “will never consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions.”
The Navy’s process for choosing which officers to promote to the one-star rank has been relatively constant and transparent over the years. The service convenes a group of officers, called a promotion board, that examines the records of eligible officers and chooses the most qualified.
The board that selected the initial slate of 31 officers for promotion was directed by then-Navy Secretary John Phelan, an appointee of President Donald Trump, to “recommend for promotion the best qualified officers within their respective competitive category.”
The order from Phelan, who later abruptly departed his post in April, said the board should consider an officer’s performance, competence and character, among other traits, as part of those qualifications
The Democrats’ letter acknowledged valid reasons do exist to remove officers from promotion consideration but said public reports indicate Hegseth’s actions could be politically motivated.
The Defense Department had not responded to Spectrum News’ request for comment before this story was published.
Hegseth has long argued, without offering evidence, that women in the military benefit from preferential treatment and are not suited for combat roles.
“For too long, we’ve promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts,” Hegseth told hundreds of military leaders in September.
The approach, he asserted, made the Pentagon “less capable and less lethal.”
The Democrats’ letter asked Hegseth to provide legal and regulatory justifications in his answers to seven questions, which included a demographic breakdown of officers who were removed from promotion consideration and internal studies that showed a decline in effectiveness of U.S. troops on the battlefield under the leadership of various officers who were denied promotions.
The senators requested a written response to their questions by Aug. 30.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.