1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I need you to launch an immediate investigation into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's forced retirement of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. According to The New York Times, George was removed after refusing Hegseth's demand to block promotions for two Black and two female officers from a list of 33 candidates, most of whom were white men. This happened during wartime, and George is a Purple Heart recipient who served as the Army's highest-ranking officer. This isn't an isolated incident. Nine U.S. officials confirmed to NBC News that Hegseth has blocked or delayed promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four military branches based on their race and gender. One official stated that not a single service has been immune to this interference. George had requested a meeting two weeks prior to raise concerns about Hegseth interfering unnecessarily with Army personnel decisions. Hegseth refused to meet with him. On the same day, Hegseth also removed Gen. David Hodne and Maj. Gen. William Green. Meanwhile, Gen. Chris LaNeve was selected as George's replacement apparently because Trump called him "central casting" at the Commander in Chief's Ball. Our military leadership cannot be chosen based on appearance or loyalty tests while qualified officers are purged for their race and gender. This demands congressional oversight.