The Times reports that Pete Hegseth personally struck four officers from an Army one-star promotion list after Dan Driscoll refused, turning a normally quiet personnel process into a public test of whether “meritocracy” now means ideological vetting. “Earlier this month, Mr. Hegseth broke the logjam by unilaterally striking the officers’ names from the list, though it is not clear he has the legal authority to do so.” Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, and Adam Entous, The New York Times, Fri. 27 Mar 2026 “Mr. Buria told Mr. Driscoll that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events, the officials said.” Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper, and Adam Entous, The New York Times, Fri. 27 Mar 2026 “Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them.” Sean Parnell, quoted by The New York Times, Fri. 27 Mar 2026

Hegseth reportedly crossed four Army officers —𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻— off a one-star promotion list after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resisted. Highly unusual, legally murky, and hard not to read as ideological. 🚩🤨 #MeritocracyOrPurge #CultureWar #QuestionTheMotive