Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blocked promotions of four Army officers picked for promotion to one-star rank, some of whom have ties to top Army generals the Pentagon chief ousted earlier this year, The Hill has learned.
Some of the officers pulled from the list have links to former Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Randy George, who Hegseth removed in April, and to Gen. Chris Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa who was ousted by the defense secretary in June, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, told The Hill on Friday.
“Military promotions are given to those who have earned them. This has always been the case under Secretary Hegseth and will not change.” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told The Hill in a statement on Friday.
Earlier this year, Hegseth intervened and removed four Army officers — two women and two Black men — from a one-star general promotion list to the dismay of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and other service branch officials, The Hill and other news outlets have reported.