Washington DC - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reportedly stepped in to block the promotions of four diverse officers in his war against "wokeness."

According to The New York Times, Hegseth recently urged army officials to remove to two Black men and two men from a list of generals who were up for promotions to become one-star generals.

After Dan Driscoll, the secretary of the army, refused to do so, arguing the officers' extensive records, Hegseth allegedly stepped up and removed the names himself.

The shocking move is not out of character for Hegseth. He notably penned a number of books prior to President Donald Trump appointing him to head the Pentagon, in which he argued that diversity has weakened the US military.

Since taking on the role, he has made active efforts to reshape the military in his ideal image.

"For too long, we've promoted too many uniform leaders for the wrong reasons – based on their race, based on gender quotas, based on historic so-called firsts," he said in a speech last year.

In a statement to NPR, a Pentagon spokesman described reporting of Hegseth's intervention as "fake news," but parroted the idea that "merit-based" appointments were paramount.

"Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them. Meritocracy, which reigns in this Department, is apolitical and unbiased."