Hegseth’s Chief of Staff Claimed Trump Wouldn’t Want to Be Seen with A Black Female Army Officer, Report Alleges

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his top aides are facing intense scrutiny following reports that the Pentagon leadership intervened to block the promotions of minority and female officers and questioned the visibility of a Black female general alongside President Donald Trump.

Interference in Military Command

According to a report published Friday by The New York Times, Ricky Buria, Hegseth’s chief of staff, reportedly challenged the appointment of Maj. Gen. Antoinette R. Gant to lead the Military District of Washington. The command is a high-profile role that involves providing security and appearing with the president during ceremonial events at Arlington National Cemetery.

Buria allegedly suggested that President Trump would not want to be seen with a Black female officer at such events. The report indicates that Hegseth’s office only backed down after Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll and White House officials disagreed with Buria’s assessment. Maj. Gen. Gant, a combat engineer with service in Iraq and Afghanistan, ultimately assumed command last July.

Buria has since dismissed the account as “completely false,” labeling it “Washington gossip” intended to sow division within the Department of Defense (DoD).

Blocked General Star Promotions

The allegations extend beyond a single command. Hegseth reportedly moved this month to unilaterally strike four names—two Black and two female Army officers—from a promotion list of approximately three dozen candidates for the rank of one-star general.

Sources indicate that Army Secretary Driscoll refused repeated requests to remove the officers over several months, prompting Hegseth to take direct action. While the names remain confidential, the targeted officers reportedly include:

• A Black armor officer: Targeted for an academic paper written 15 years ago regarding Black military leadership.
• A female logistics officer: Allegedly penalized for her role in the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The “Meritocracy” Defense

The Pentagon has framed these decisions as a return to “merit-based” advancements. Chief spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed the reporting as “fake news” from anonymous sources.

“Under Secretary Hegseth, military promotions are given to those who have earned them,” Parnell stated, emphasizing that the department now operates under an “apolitical and unbiased” meritocracy. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed this sentiment, stating Hegseth is “restoring meritocracy” as directed by the President.

The reports have sparked a firestorm on Capitol Hill. In a joint statement, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Democratic Women’s Caucus described the findings as “extremely concerning,” characterizing the actions as a “coordinated and sustained strategy to undermine and erase women and people of color” within the armed forces.

The standoff highlights a deepening rift between the Pentagon’s political leadership and the Army’s traditional promotion processes, as the administration continues its overhaul of military personnel policy.