Hegseth’s Officer Purge Is Bad for the Military—And Our Country Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly intervened to remove five officers from a promotion list for rear admiral. The removed officers included three female captains and two black male captains, along with four white men. Following this intervention, the list sent to the Senate for confirmation reportedly has no women and only two non-black minorities among the remaining officers.

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly intervened in a list of 22 officers for promotion to rear admiral.
• The intervention allegedly resulted in the removal of three female captains and two black male captains.
• Four white men were also removed from the list.
• The revised list sent to the Senate for confirmation reportedly includes no women and only two non-black minorities.