U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has withdrawn the promotion of Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly, blocking the Navy officer’s elevation to vice admiral and command of the Seventh Fleet. Donnelly’s nomination had been submitted by President Donald Trump on 18 June and cleared the Senate by voice vote on 29 June. A Pentagon official said Hegseth is “thankful for his continued service” and is seeking a new nominee. Although the department has not publicly explained the reversal, Donnelly had faced conservative criticism for drag-show performances staged under his command aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in 2017-18. Four days after shelving Donnelly’s promotion, Hegseth pulled roughly a dozen senior uniformed and civilian officials from this week’s Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the Aspen Institute’s event was “antithetical to the America First values of this administration” and accused the forum of promoting “the evil of globalism.” The cancellations swept senior commanders including the heads of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Space Command and Transportation Command. Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who had also been listed as a speaker, withdrew as well. The shake-ups come as two Pentagon investigative bodies open inquiries into close aides to Hegseth over their reported use of the encrypted Signal app for sensitive discussions, according to officials briefed on the probes. The overlapping actions underscore the contentious cultural and political climate surrounding the department’s leadership less than seven months into Hegseth’s tenure.