Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's targeted blocks on the promotions of officers in the Navy and Air Force have intensified scrutiny from former military leaders, who call the moves unprecedented and an abuse of his power under federal law.

A disproportionate number of the nine stalled promotions in the Navy were reportedly women or minorities, coming months after Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll feuded over demands to remove certain names from that branch's promotions list, including some Black and female officers. The defense secretary can halt promotions if they have professional, physical, mental or moral failings that could jeopardize their ability to lead.

What the Left Is Saying

Former Defense Department officials have been vocal in their criticism of Hegseth's intervention in military promotions. Frank Kendall, who served as Air Force secretary during the Biden administration, said the message being sent is deeply troubling for women and minorities in uniform.

"There seems to be an assumption that if you were a minority or a woman and you were promoted, that it was because of your identity and not because you're good at what you do," Kendall told The Hill. "That's sending a really negative message to everybody who's not a white male, and I'm afraid this is pervasive right now in our military."

Hunter Stires, who served as Maritime Strategist under former Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, said Hegseth's actions contradict his stated commitment to meritocracy.

"Hegseth talks merit and walks chauvinism," Stires told The Hill. "The message to the force is extremely corrosive, because the message is that merit doesn't matter."

Retired Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, former Assistant Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, called Hegseth's blocked promotions "unnecessary, unwarranted and it's certainly unprecedented." He added: "I believe at the end of the day it's really not very good for good order of discipline inside the military ranks."

What the Right Is Saying

Pentagon officials defended Hegseth's approach as consistent with merit-based advancement. A defense official told The Hill that anyone questioning merit-based promotions under Hegseth should "reconsider their values" and that 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," the official said in a statement. "Under President Trump and Secretary Hegseth, meritocracy reigns supreme at the War Department."

A former U.S. official familiar with Hegseth's deliberations said the defense secretary would not strike an officer from a list because they are female or Black.

"However, he is going to strike people if he thinks that they're not worthy," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. "My idea of merit, your idea of merit, his idea of merit may be different. In his mind, it's merit."

The official described Hegseth's considerations as including a candidate's occupation within the military, their history regarding DEI practices, what they did under past administrations, and whether they are a combat veteran. On Capitol Hill, Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas argued against legislative constraints on the defense secretary's authority.

"This amendment further ties the hands of the secretary and restricts the president's authority," Fallon said during the NDAA markup. "Certain officers being promoted according to merit alone should be, as the secretary said, merit alone."

What the Numbers Show

Hegseth blocked promotions for nine Navy officers, including three women and two Black men, according to The New York Times. On the latest list of 22 prospective one-star admirals made public last month, none were women. Pentagon data shows just over 21 percent of the active-duty Navy is female.

"That's kind of outrageous to think for the size of the Navy," said a recent former senior defense official who spoke with The Hill on condition of anonymity. "What level of meritocracy is even there?"

Hegseth also blocked nine Air Force colonels from promotion, The Wall Street Journal reported. Of the 26 recommended for competitive promotion including pay raises, only one colonel was a woman and none were Black.

Since taking leadership at the Pentagon, Hegseth has sidelined or fired more than 20 flag officers, including Gen. Charles Q. Brown, who is Black and previously served as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first female chief of naval operations.

The Bottom Line

The stalled promotions have drawn bipartisan concern in Congress. Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, said he had reached out to the Pentagon for explanations and expressed frustration with the lack of responses.

"I'm disappointed that the secretary has chosen to refuse to answer any of the questions that the members of Congress have asked him on any of these issues," Scott said.

During last week's National Defense Authorization Act markup, an amendment introduced by Rep. Marilyn Strickland, a Democrat from Washington state, to block the defense secretary from striking names from officer promotion lists failed in a 26-30 vote, with Democratic Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Don Davis of North Carolina siding with Republicans.

Kendall said the blocked promotions represent culture war battles at the Pentagon taken to an extreme. He expressed particular concern about retention impacts.

"I worry about the impact on people who are trying to decide whether to stay in the military or not — particularly minorities and women," Kendall said.