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Opinion - Dedication without Recognition: Racism and Sexism in Pete Hegseth’s Military
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
Written by Grace Stevens
Edited by Rebecca Oxtot and Francesca Howard
The Truman Library Institute reports that on July 26th, 1948, President Truman ordered: “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin." Truman’s executive order desegregated the army and allowed equal opportunity to soldiers regardless of race.
On January 27th 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order to “restore merit and lethality to America’s fighting force.” The executive order prohibits discriminatory behavior based on sex or race in the Armed Forces, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security. Although the goals of Trump’s order seem similar to the order signed by Truman 77 years ago, Trump’s intention is to benefit white male officers.
The White House reports that this order “abolishes any remnant of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy.” The removal of DEI programs allows Trump to make radical changes in these departments that subject minority workers to poor treatment and therefore weed workers out of the armed forces.
Trump also announced an order titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” on January 27th of last year. In the order, Trump proclaims that Trans people “cannot satisfy the rigorous standard necessary for military service” (The White House). The title of this order suggests that it is being made to discuss the physical requirements and skills necessary for military workers, but instead, Trump uses the document to disrespect and discriminate against Trans people. Trump justifies this blatant transphobia by stating that “military excellence cannot be diluted to accommodate political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion” (The White House). The idea that altering political views and identities is a danger to productive federal work allows for the mistreatment of minority workers.
As reported by The New York Times, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has blocked the promotion of four Navy officers. Two of the officers are women, and two are black, causing speculations of racism and sexism in the decision. Military officials told The New York Times that Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll repeatedly rejected Hegseth’s request to block the soldiers’ promotion because of their experience and impressive service. Hegseth made the decision regardless of the senior officer’s opinion.
Hegseth continues to make decisions that harm the careers of black and female officers. This month, Hegseth removed two black and three female officers from the Navy promotion list. This move was against the rules of the military because the officers were selected by a board of senior Navy admirals. According to the New York Times, the decision about which officers are promoted is meant to be entirely merit-based and should have nothing to do with the officers’ identity or Hegseth's personal opinion of them.
Trump and Hegseth’s repeated disregard of the loyalty and skills of military officers because of their gender or race is extremely concerning. Creating departments that lack DEI or members of minority groups in high-power positions creates environments prone to discriminatory behavior that mirrors the military before Truman’s order.
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