Getting a promotion at the Pentagon seems to be getting harder under Hegseth

NPR | By Mary Louise Kelly,

Kat Lonsdorf, Tom Bowman

Published June 11, 2026 at 4:15 PM EDT

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has blocked or delayed the promotions of several officers across the military branches, and a disproportionate number of those officers are women and people of color. Why? And how is Congress responding?

Mary Louise Kelly

Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine.

Kat Lonsdorf

Kat Lonsdorf is a Middle East reporter currently based in Tel Aviv.

Tom Bowman

Tom Bowman is a NPR National Desk reporter covering the Pentagon. He is also a co-host of NPR's Taking Cover podcast and “A Good Guy” from NPR’s Embedded.

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Getting a promotion at the Pentagon seems to be getting harder under Hegseth

Support quality journalism, like the story above, with your gift right now.

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with your gift right now.