Pete Hegseth

NY Times -   Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of seven senior Navy officers, five of whom are women or people of color, to two-star admiral rank, current and former defense officials said. The highly unusual move means that for the first time in more than a decade, no female active-duty naval officers are likely to be promoted to admiral this year, officials said.

The initial list consisted of 22 officers who were chosen by a promotion board made up of senior admirals. The board determined that the two-star nominees were among the Navy’s highest performers over careers spanning more than 25 years.

Among those removed was Rear Adm. Amy Bauernschmidt, who was chosen in 2020 to be the first woman to command the crew of one of the Navy’s 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters.

Mr. Hegseth did not provide a rationale for pulling Admiral Bauernschmidt or the other officers off the promotion list. But he has claimed in recent years that the military has focused too much on promoting people of color and women, at the expense of white men.

“Affirmative action promotions have skyrocketed with ‘firsts’ being the most important factor in filling new commands,” Mr. Hegseth wrote in the opening pages of his 2024 book “The War on Warriors.” “We will not stop until trans-lesbian Black females run everything!”

Mr. Hegseth’s book did not provide statistics to back up his claims. Women make up 21 percent of the active-duty Navy, but account for only about 7 percent of active-duty admirals.