{"id":2458147,"date":"2025-07-10T18:16:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T18:18:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T22:18:19","slug":"pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Pentagon Pulls Promotion Of Admiral Who Allowed Drag Shows"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2458147&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S.Department of defence has withdrawn the promotion proposal for Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly, who had previously allowed drag shows on the USS Ronald Reagan during Donald Trump&#8217;s presidency. This decision came after media inquiries,including from The Federalist,questioned why Donnelly was being considered for promotion despite his controversial actions that some viewed as opposing Trump&#8217;s military vision. Donnelly was set to lead the Navy&#8217;s 7th Fleet, the largest overseas naval force, but his nomination was pulled by Secretary Pete hegseth, who supports Trump&#8217;s efforts to remove &#8220;woke&#8221; influences from the military. Donnelly gained attention for <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >permitting drag queen performances aboard<\/a> his ship, including shows featuring &#8220;Harpy Daniels,&#8221; a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-live-house-armed-services-committee-holds-hearing-on-navy-fiscal-2024-budget-request\/\" title=\"WATCH LIVE: House Armed Services Committee holds hearing on Navy fiscal 2024 budget request\">nonbinary sailor<\/a> and Navy digital ambassador. Since his appointment, Hegseth has worked to enforce Trump&#8217;s policies, including banning transgender individuals from military service. The Pentagon will now seek new candidates to command the 7th Fleet.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=38hwtrnR66k\">The White House \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/10\/pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows-after-federalist-inquiry\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Pentagon%20Pulls%20Promotion%20Of%20Admiral%20Who%20Allowed%20Drag%20Shows%20After%20Federalist%20Inquiry&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/10\/pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows-after-federalist-inquiry\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Pentagon%20Pulls%20Promotion%20Of%20Admiral%20Who%20Allowed%20Drag%20Shows%20After%20Federalist%20Inquiry&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/10\/pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows-after-federalist-inquiry\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/10\/pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows-after-federalist-inquiry\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Pentagon%20Pulls%20Promotion%20Of%20Admiral%20Who%20Allowed%20Drag%20Shows%20After%20Federalist%20Inquiry&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/10\/pentagon-pulls-promotion-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows-after-federalist-inquiry\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The Defense Department is pulling the recommendation for Rear Admiral Michael Donnelly&rsquo;s promotion, one week after the DoD refused to answer The Federalist&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/03\/white-house-pentagon-wont-say-why-admiral-who-allowed-drag-shows-on-navy-ship-was-nominated-for-promotion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inquiries<\/a>, as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/exclusive-pentagon-ditches-admiral-who-allowed-drag-queen-performances-on-aircraft-carrier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Wire first reported.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Secretary Hegseth has chosen to&nbsp;withdraw Admiral Donnelly&rsquo;s nomination to lead [the] 7th fleet. The Secretary is thankful for his continued service and wishes him luck in his next position. The Department will open up nominations for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/taiwan-has-five-years-to-prepare-for-invasion\/\" title=\"Taiwan Has Five Years to Prepare for Invasion\">7th fleet commander<\/a>.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2021551744\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Donnelly gained infamy for allowing drag shows aboard his ship, the USS Ronald Reagan, during Trump&rsquo;s first term. The Federalist reached out to the White House to ask why Donnelly was being promoted despite his apparent opposition to Trump&rsquo;s vision for the military, but did not receive a response. Upon reaching out to the Secretary of Defense&rsquo;s Office with the same question, the Federalist was referred to Navy Public Affairs, which also did not respond. <\/p>\n<p>On the campaign trail, Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vox.com\/politics\/387246\/trump-says-he-wants-to-get-rid-of-woke-generals-he-can\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">promised<\/a> to fire woke generals and admirals, rid the military of other woke elements, and make the armed forces strong again. He even featured a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=G-dpIHm8C1Y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a> that spliced clips of <em>Full Metal Jacket<\/em> alongside Admiral Rachel Levine and Navy drag queen &ldquo;Harpy Daniels&rdquo; to illustrate the strength of the military under Trump versus wokeness under Biden. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Harpy Daniels,&rdquo; an openly nonbinary sailor and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/university-of-arkansas-dropped-10k-on-virtual-drag-show-for-students\/\" title=\"University Of Arkansas Dropped K On Virtual ... Show For Students\">drag performer<\/a> whose real name is Joshua Kelly, was <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/05\/01\/us-navy-drag-queen-recruitment\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">crowned<\/a>&nbsp;a Navy digital ambassador in 2022. In 2017 and 2018, he&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/feature\/nbc-out\/navy-drag-queen-harpy-daniels-serving-looks-country-n905056\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">performed<\/a>&nbsp;drag for Morale, Welfare, and Recreation Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/05\/19\/tuberville-blocking-promotion-navy-captain-who-allowed-drag-shows-uss-ronald-reagan\/\">events<\/a> onboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. Donnelly was the ship&rsquo;s captain at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Donnelly previously&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2025\/06\/23\/pentagon-announces-new-flag-nominees-including-commanders-of-5th-7th-fleets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commanded<\/a>&nbsp;Strike Fighter Squadron 154, the USS Denver<em>,&nbsp;<\/em>the USS Ronald Reagan<em>,&nbsp;<\/em>Carrier Strike Group 5, and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. He is currently the head of the Chief of Naval Operations&rsquo; Air Warfare directorate. If promoted to 7th fleet commander, he would have&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stripes.com\/branches\/navy\/2025-06-24\/7th-fleet-nomination-buzz-donnelly-18232720.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">commanded<\/a>&nbsp;up to 70 ships, 150 aircraft, and more than 27,000 sailors &mdash; the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.c7f.navy.mil\/About-Us\/Facts-Sheet\/#:~:text=%EF%82%B7%20Seventh%20Fleet%20is%20the,Navy%20Flag%20officer%2C%20Vice%20Adm.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">largest<\/a> overseas force in the Navy.<\/p>\n<p>Since his appointment, Hegseth has made good on Trump&rsquo;s promises by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/5137421-hegseth-ban-on-transgender-troops\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">implementing<\/a>&nbsp;the president&rsquo;s ban on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dod-mum-on-nomination-of-admiral-who-allowed-drag-on-ship\/\" title=\"DOD Mum On Nomination Of Admiral Who Allowed ... On Ship\">recruiting trans-identifying individuals<\/a> and working to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/hegseth-orders-deadline-trans-service-members-leave-military-out-dod\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remove<\/a>&nbsp;them from the military. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Jacqueline Annis-Levings is a correspondent for the Federalist. She is a rising junior at Patrick Henry College, where she is majoring in English.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Jacqueline Annis-Levings<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JacqLevings\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@JacqLevings<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/jacquelineannislevings\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/admiral-michael-donnelly\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Admiral Michael Donnelly<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-defense\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Defense<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dod\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">DOD<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/drag-queens\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">drag queens<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/navy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Navy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pete Hegseth<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/promotion\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">promotion<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/secretary-pete-hegseth\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Secretary Pete Hegseth<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense Dept. withdraws Rear Admiral Donnelly&#8217;s promotion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3848,"featured_media":2458148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-6.00.35%E2%80%AFPM-e1752184936354.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4505,3761,7800],"class_list":["post-2458147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-military","tag-pentagon","tag-promotion"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Screenshot-2025-07-10-at-6.00.35%E2%80%AFPM-e1752184936354.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458147"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2458151,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458147\/revisions\/2458151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2458148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}