Washington DC – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly blocked nine Navy officers, mostly female and Black candidates, from promotions they had been selected for by top Navy admirals.

Hegseth blocked the promotion of nine Navy officers who had been selected by Navy admirals. Three of them were women, and two were Black men, the New York Times reported Monday.

The resultant one-star list released in May featured no women, despite female officers making up 21% of the Navy. Only two non-white officers were included, despite racial minorities making up 38%.

Five current and former defense officials spoke with the NYT about the blocked promotions, accusing Hegseth of breaching rules governing the promotion system, which is supposed to be merit-based.

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According to the Pentagon's own rules, the Secretary of Defense can only remove people from the one-star list if they are unfit to lead due to a moral, mental, or physical failing.

It's speculated that the move may have come as part of Hegseth's continuing assault on diversity within the military.

Over the course of his tenure, he has consistently belittled and attacked transgender and LGBTQI+ service members, as well as those from racial minorities.

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell refused to confirm whether the officers had been pulled, insisting, "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," Parnell said.

"This is disgusting," Democratic representative and Black Caucus Chair Emerita Joyce Beatty responded. "The Trump administration is discriminating against Black and female service members."

"Our service members are the backbone of our country, and they deserve to be respected."