Pete Hegseth is rebuilding the Army’s ‘brass ceiling’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired or blocked promotions for more than 80 admirals and generals since January 2025, often citing 'woke' diversity efforts, according to a scholar who studies the military. More than half of those removed have been women or Black officers, in a corps that is 79% male and 74% white; one blocked officer had written a grad school paper on political polarization's effect on recruiting, another was blocked over a false belief he'd allowed a women's paratrooper mentorship group.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned Aug. 31, reportedly partly over frustration with Hegseth, leaving the Army without Senate-confirmed civilian leadership six months into the war with Iran. All five service chiefs and 9 in 10 combatant commanders are now white men, and this year saw the lowest share of women nominated for general or admiral rank in 25 years.

The military has hit recruiting goals for three straight years, which Hegseth attributes to troops' faith in leadership and a Pentagon spokesperson calls unprecedented pride in service. The scholar's research instead points to pay, job training and educational benefits as the actual draw, historically the same appeals that have brought in the women and people of color now being pushed out of leadership.

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