WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and colleagues are demanding answers after reports that Secretary Hegseth denied military officers’ promotions for political reasons.
Secretary Hegseth reportedly blocked the promotion of eight Navy captains to be one-star admirals –– including the promotions of two female officers and two Black officers.
“We write concerning reports of your unprecedented decision to personally remove qualified Officers from consideration for promotion to Brigadier General, Major General and Flag Officer. These actions raise concerns regarding the criteria, process, and authorities utilized to make changes to promotion recommendations after completion of the highly regulated military promotion board process,” the Senators wrote to Secretary Hegseth.
“We recognize the importance of having the most qualified Officers serving in these positions of great responsibility. While there are valid reasons to remove Officers from consideration for promotion for reasons that often involve sensitive or adverse information; public reports indicate your actions may be politically motivated, disregards the many achievements of these Officers, and shirks the idea of an apolitical military. Additionally, there are reports that your decisions are affecting morale among all ranks of Officers,” the Senators continued.
Slotkin and Ossoff are joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR).
Click here to read the full letter.
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