Jamie Raskin

A top House Democrat sharply criticized Pete Hegseth, accusing the defense secretary of being a “racist, misogynistic guy” over his blocking promotions for minority and female naval officers.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee and a leading Trump administration critic, was asked Tuesday what he makes of Hegseth blocking the promotions.

“Well, that Hegseth is a straight-up racist, misogynistic guy,” Raskin told the MeidasTouch network.

The Maryland Democrat then suggested that Hegseth, who has railed against DEI policies, hasn’t lived up to the promise that he would not take another sip of alcohol, which Hegseth made during his confirmation hearings amid concerns of excessive drinking.

“I don’t know why we never really followed up on his promise that he would stop drinking because that seems rather dubious at this point,” Raskin said.

“He’s a racist, a sexist, misogynistic and anti-immigrant bigot and a would-be theocrat,” the Maryland congressman continued. “He’s denigrating and degrading our armed forces.”

The New York Times reported last month that Hegseth went against the recommendation of a board of Navy admirals to promote nine officers to one-star admirals, including three women and two Black men.

After Hegseth’s intervention, the Times reported, “no female officers were included on the new one-star list, which was released publicly in late May, despite the fact that women make up about 21 percent of the active-duty Navy. The list appears to include only two nonwhite officers, even though sailors who identify as racial minorities make up about 38 percent of the active-duty Navy."

Current and former Defense Department officials told the Times that Hegseth striking the female and Black nominees from the list was “highly unusual”