WASHINGTON — Last fall, the Pentagon’s most senior leaders agreed that two top generals should be promoted to elite, four-star commands. For then-Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the tricky part was that both of the accomplished officers were women. In 2020 America under President Trump, the two Pentagon leaders feared that any candidates other than white men for jobs mostly held by white men might run into turmoil once their nominations got to the White House. Mr. Esper and General Milley worried that if they even raised their names — Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Laura J. Richardson of the Army — the Trump White House would replace them with its own candidates before leaving office. They stuck to the plan even after Mr. Trump fired Mr. Esper six days after the election.

Source: New York Times February 17, 2021 14:48 UTC