Hegseth Blocks Black Admiral’s Promotion in Anti-DEI Push

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has blocked the promotion of Admiral Barnett, a Black Navy officer who successfully resolved one of the service’s most serious operational crises, according to a major investigation by The New York Times. The decision is the most prominent example yet of a sweeping campaign that has seen at least 40 senior military officers denied advancement to general and admiral ranks in 2026 alone.

A Pattern of Blocked Promotions

The NYT investigation, published June 19, reveals that Hegseth passed over Admiral Barnett in favor of a white officer who was the Navy leadership’s third choice. Senior Navy officials were reportedly “shocked and angered” by the decision. Barnett is now expected to retire.

This case is part of a broader pattern. In May and June 2026, Hegseth stripped nine Navy officers — including women and Black service members — from a promotion list, resulting in an all-male, overwhelmingly white slate of 22 nominees for one-star admiral, as The Guardian reported. The original list had included three women and two Black officers. The final list contained no women and only two nonwhite men.

Women make up approximately 21 percent of the Navy, and about 38 percent of active-duty personnel identify as racial minorities, according to a 2024 government profile cited by The Guardian.

Hegseth’s Anti-DEI Campaign

Since his narrow Senate confirmation in January 2025, Hegseth has waged an aggressive campaign against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the military. He has fired or sidelined nearly three dozen senior officers overall, according to the NYT.

Key targets have included:

• Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first female chief of naval operations, fired in February 2025
• Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, the second African American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom Hegseth recommended for removal over his “woke” focus on DEI; Trump replaced Brown with Gen. Dan Caine
• V Adm. Yvette Davids, the first woman to lead the U.S. Naval Academy, reassigned
• V Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. military representative to NATO, dismissed
• Linda Fagan, the Coast Guard Commandant, dismissed on the first day of Trump’s second term

In March 2026, Hegseth similarly removed two Black men and two women from an Army promotion list for one-star generals, as NPR confirmed.

The Merit vs. Diversity Debate

Hegseth has framed his actions as a restoration of merit-based promotions. In a September 2025 speech to military commanders, he said: “For too long, we’ve promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons — based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts.”

At West Point on May 23, 2026, Hegseth declared: “Diversity is not our strength. Unity is our strength.”

The Pentagon has defended Hegseth’s record. Chief spokesman Sean Parnell told The Guardian: “As we’ve said before, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. The department will never consider the color of a service member’s skin or their gender as a factor in promotions. Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, meritocracy reigns supreme at the war department.”

Parnell also accused the NYT of viewing “everything through the lens of race and gender over merit,” as The Independent reported.

Violation of Promotion Norms

Critics argue that Hegseth’s interventions themselves violate the apolitical, merit-based promotion rules he claims to uphold. An anonymous former military official told The Guardian: “It’s supposed to be an up-and-down vote from the defense secretary. He’s continuing to meddle on an individual basis. He’s stripping autonomy from the service secretaries.”

A Navy source described Hegseth’s process to The Guardian: “He had his favorite MOS’s [military occupational specialties], and then gender and race. He went through the list and scrubbed a few names. It was felt loud and clear.”

Broader Implications

The promotion blocks are part of a wider Trump administration effort to reshape the U.S. military, which has included attempts to ban women from combat roles and block transgender troops from serving. A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. ruled on June 1 that the government “acted illegally” by moving to dismiss transgender service members, a case expected to reach the Supreme Court.

Retired Major General Paul Eaton warned NPR that the policies could harm recruitment and retention. “Women are looking at all this,” he said. “They’re looking at what happened to Admiral Franchetti. And when you fire a guy like C.Q. Brown, what are young Black Americans thinking when they really might want to come into the military?”

What’s Next

Admiral Barnett is expected to retire rather than challenge the decision. The Senate must still confirm the all-male, predominantly white promotion list, which could become a flashpoint for debate. Broader legal challenges to Hegseth’s authority to unilaterally block promotions may follow, and congressional hearings could investigate the scope of the 40-plus blocked promotions across all service branches.

The long-term impact on military leadership demographics, morale, and readiness remains an open question — one that will likely define Hegseth’s legacy at the Pentagon.