Hegseth Blocks Promotion of Army Officer Linked to Milley

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the removal of a senior Army officer from a pending promotion list, a move that comes amid broader leadership shakeups inside the Pentagon.

According to Fox News, Hegseth directed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to pull Col. Butler from a list of officers slated for promotion to brigadier general.

Butler currently serves as chief of staff to the Defense Department’s public affairs leadership and was selected for promotion roughly four months ago.

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The decision follows a wave of high-level firings after Hegseth entered the Pentagon, including Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former Chief of Naval Operations, and Gen. Charles Q. Brown, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

No formal reason for Butler’s removal has been publicly disclosed.

Fox News reported that Lt. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga volunteered to remove his own name from the promotion list in an effort to prevent delays for other officers awaiting advancement.

A former four-star commander who worked with Butler described him as “the most competent Public Affairs officer I have ever worked with and a gifted practitioner of strategic communications.”

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Butler previously served as an aide to retired Gen. Mark Milley and has held multiple senior communications roles across Army and joint commands.

The Pentagon declined to comment when asked about the promotion decision.

The removal comes as senior officers have reportedly expressed uncertainty following multiple abrupt leadership changes across the department.

It remains unclear whether additional promotion reviews or personnel shifts are expected in the coming weeks.

For now, the Pentagon’s internal reshuffle continues.

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