According to The New York Times, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotion of four Army officers to one-star general—two of whom are Black and two women—in a highly unusual move that has led some senior military officials to question whether the decision is based on race or gender.

The officers were part of a broader list of roughly three dozen candidates under consideration for promotion. Hegseth had reportedly spent months pressuring senior Army leaders, including Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, to remove their names. However, Driscoll repeatedly refused, citing the officers’ decades of exemplary service.

Earlier this month, Hegseth is said to have broken the deadlock by unilaterally removing the four names from the list, though it remains unclear whether he has the legal authority to do so. The revised list is now under review by the White House and is expected to be sent to the Senate for final approval.