March 27, 2026
One senior military official said the promotion list includes close to 40 officers, mostly white men but some Black and female officers remain on it.
While his reasons remain unclear, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly attempted to block the names of four Army officers, Black men and women, from a list of military promotions for one-star general positions, The Independent reported.
The defense secretary reportedly removed the four officers’ names from the list himself after asking Army leaders, including Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, to do so. Still, after Driscoll allegedly refused due to the officers’ outstanding records, Hegseth wanted to take matters into his own hands.
However, it is unclear whether he has the authority to do so before it is sent to the White House for final review.
One senior military official said the promotion list includes close to 40 officers, mostly white men, but some Black and female officers remain on it. Since taking his post, Hegseth has focused on removing what he labels “woke” policies from the Pentagon, including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and has promised to make all promotions “based on merit.”
The random move raised eyebrows about whether the secretary targeted the four officers due to their race or gender. One of the names Hegseth allegedly wanted removed from the list is Maj. Gen. Antoinette Gant, following a tense exchange between Driscoll and Hegseth’s chief of staff, Ricky Buria. Gant, who is Black, is a combat engineer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was recommended to become head of the Military District of Washington, according to The Hill.
In the role, she would lead a command to provide security while also performing ceremonial duties in the nation’s capital, often making appearances alongside the sitting president at Arlington National Cemetery. Buria allegedly told Driscoll that President Donald Trump wouldn’t want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events.
Driscoll reportedly replied, “The president is not a racist or sexist,” and Hegseth’s office eventually gave in, resulting in Gant beginning to serve in the role last summer and being promoted to two-star general in early March 2026.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell claimed the report is “fake news,” stating, “under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. Meritocracy, which reigns in this Department, is apolitical and unbiased.”
Buria also released a statement claiming the report is an attempt to create a devised narrative.
“Whoever placed this made-up story is clearly trying to sow division among our ranks in the Department and the administration. It’s not going to work, and it will never work when this Department is led by clear-eyed, mission-driven leaders unfazed by Washington gossip,” Buria said.
However, reports say otherwise. Gen. C.Q. Brown, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – the second African American to hold the job – was fired by Hegseth shortly after being named secretary. He also fired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to hold the Navy’s top uniformed job.
Both Brown and Franchetti were critical of Hegseth before his appointment, and Hegseth wasn’t shy about expressing how he felt about it.
In his book, “The War on Warriors,” Hegseth questioned whether Brown got the job on merit or because of his race.
“The military standards, once the hallmark for competency, professionalism, and ‘mission first’ outcomes, have officially been subsumed by woke priorities,” he wrote.
“You think C.Q. Brown will think intuitively about external threats and internal readiness? No chance. He built his generalship dutifully pursuing the radical positions of left-wing politicians, who in turn rewarded him with promotions.”
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