New York Times: Hegseth blocked promotions of seven senior Navy officers, five of them women or people of color, to two-star admiral

The New York Times reported on July 14, 2026, that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had blocked the promotions of seven senior Navy officers to two-star admiral rank, five of whom are women or people of color, according to current and former defense officials. A Navy promotion board of senior admirals had recommended 22 officers for advancement, described in the reporting as among the Navy's highest performers over careers spanning more than 25 years; Hegseth rejected seven of them. Officials said the intervention means that, for the first time in more than a decade, no active-duty female naval officer is likely to be promoted to admiral this year.

Among those removed from the list was Rear Adm. Amy Bauernschmidt, a roughly 30-year veteran who in 2021 became the first woman to command a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and who now leads the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group. Under existing Pentagon policy, the defense secretary is permitted to block an officer only for moral, mental, physical, or professional failings; officials said Hegseth cited no such basis. NBC News separately reported that Hegseth has moved to block or delay promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four military branches, with officials in the services and the White House raising concern that qualified officers were being targeted over race, gender, or perceived ties to Biden-era policies. The action follows Hegseth's blocking last month of nine Navy officers from one-star admiral promotion.