{"id":2458361,"date":"2025-07-11T08:56:02","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T12:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-hegseth-pulls-the-plug-on-navy-vice-admiral-nominee-after-his-woke-past-comes-to-light-report\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T08:57:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T12:57:22","slug":"pete-hegseth-pulls-the-plug-on-navy-vice-admiral-nominee-after-his-woke-past-comes-to-light-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-hegseth-pulls-the-plug-on-navy-vice-admiral-nominee-after-his-woke-past-comes-to-light-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Pete Hegseth Pulls the Plug on Navy Vice Admiral Nominee After His Woke Past Comes to Light: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/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%2Fpete-hegseth-pulls-the-plug-on-navy-vice-admiral-nominee-after-his-woke-past-comes-to-light-report%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=2458361&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>Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth withdrew the nomination of Rear admiral Michael P. Donnelly for promotion to Vice Admiral after it was revealed that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boise-pride-backs-down-cancels-controversial-drag-kids-performance-as-more-sponsors-pull-out\/\" title=\"Boise Pride Backs Down, Cancels Controversial \u2018Drag Kids\u2019 Performance As More Sponsors Pull Out\">drag queen performances<\/a> took place aboard the USS Ronald Reagan during Donnelly&#8217;s command from April 2016 to September 2018. The events, performed by Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley under the stage name &#8220;Harpy Daniels,&#8221; were officially sanctioned as Morale, Welfare, and Recreation activities. Although Donnelly was nominated by President Donald Trump and was set to command the Navy&#8217;s 7th Fleet, concerns about these drag shows and donnelly&#8217;s &#8220;woke&#8221; actions had previously caused controversy and delayed his promotions. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville had also blocked some of Donnelly&#8217;s earlier advancements. Critics argue that such activities are inappropriate for a war-ready aircraft carrier and suggest that Donnelly&#8217;s priorities are misguided,calling into question his suitability for military leadership. The incident also highlights perceived flaws in the vetting process for military nominations under the Trump administration. Secretary Hegseth has taken steps to reduce political influences in Navy ship naming and is reportedly seeking a replacement candidate for Donnelly.  <\/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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has withdrawn the nomination of Rear Admiral Michael P. Donnelly for Vice Admiral, after learning that drag performances were held aboard the USS Ronald Reagan while under his command.<\/p>\n<p>An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/exclusive-pentagon-ditches-admiral-who-allowed-drag-queen-performances-on-aircraft-carrier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exclusive story<\/a> by The Daily Wire stated that Donnelly&rsquo;s confirmation was pulled because when he was in command, from April 2016 to September 2018, Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley was performing as a drag queen under the name &ldquo;Harpy Daniels.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, the department billed it as a &ldquo;Morale, Welfare, and Recreation&rdquo; event. Yikes.<\/p>\n<p>Donnelly was nominated for the promotion back on June 18 by President Donald Trump and would have also taken command of the 7th Fleet, which is the largest overseas force in the Navy.<\/p>\n<p>A DOD source told The Daily Wire that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/dem-senator-mazie-hirono-gets-called-lying-pete-hegseth-told-hearing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hegseth<\/a> withdrew his nomination after repeated media inquires and is currently looking for another candidate to replace Donnelly.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"stnvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadScript(src) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=src; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.async=true; \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.body.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadScript(\"https:\/\/embed.sendtonews.com\/player3\/embedcode.js?fk=s28Az7AY\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #stnvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#stnvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The most disturbing part of the story is how Donnelly was able to get past Trump&rsquo;s vetting team in the first place. This isn&rsquo;t the first roadblock Donnelly has faced over concerns about his woke antics.<\/p>\n<p>Various <a href=\"https:\/\/calverttaskgroup.org\/tuberville-blocking-promotion-of-navy-captain-who-allowed-drag-shows-aboard-uss-ronald-reagan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">articles<\/a> from all the way <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2023\/05\/19\/tuberville-blocking-promotion-navy-captain-who-allowed-drag-shows-uss-ronald-reagan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">back<\/a> in 2018, from outlets like The Military Times and The Daily Caller, <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2023\/09\/27\/conservative-group-calls-on-senate-to-reject-promotions-for-pentagon-dei-military-nominees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">already covered<\/a> this story in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/off-duty\/military-culture\/2018\/08\/30\/sailor-by-day-performer-by-night-meet-the-navys-drag-queen-harpy-daniels\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">detail<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama also held up Donnelly&rsquo;s promotion to rear admiral, as part of an attempt to block Biden-era Defense Department promotions.<\/p>\n<p>William Thibeau, director of The American Military Project at The Claremont Institute told The Daily Wire: &ldquo;The USS Ronald Reagan drag shows of 2017 and 2018 were not random acts of entertainment for sailors, but were sanctioned Navy programs under the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) department of the ship.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He added, &ldquo;As commander of the ship, Captain Donnelly would have been ultimately responsible for this program.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Allowing drag performances on a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >naval aircraft carrier demonstrates<\/a> an extreme lack of judgement and moral clarity.<\/p>\n<p>At the very least, Donnelly priorities are extremely mixed up. At worst, he&rsquo;s a radical that doesn&rsquo;t belong within the ranks of our armed forces&rsquo; leadership.<\/p>\n<p>An aircraft carrier is a place that needs to be prepared to go to war at all times. It is not the forum for flaunting sexualized cross-dressing performances.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest takeaway, however, is that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/house-pro-trump-display-targeted-shooter-second-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Trump<\/a> nominees aren&rsquo;t being vetted properly and mistakes from the first term may comeback to haunt this administration.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth seems to be doing his best. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/pete-hegseth-announces-perfect-new-name-usns-harvey-milk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">took steps<\/a> back in June to eliminate the politicizing of ship naming, by changing the USNS Harvey Milk to the&nbsp;USNS Oscar V. Peterson.<\/p>\n<p>Milk was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pete-hegseth-announces-perfect-new-name-for-the-usns-harvey-milk\/\" title=\"Pete ... Announces Perfect New Name for the ...\">gay left-wing activist<\/a> known for serving in local San Francisco government back in the 1970s and for raping a 16-year-old boy.<\/p>\n<p>Peterson on the other hand, was a&nbsp;Navy veteran and hero, who sacrificed his own life for fellow ship-mates earning him a posthumous Medal of Honor.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We are taking the politics out of ship naming,&rdquo; he said, in a <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/i\/status\/1938568563838886269\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">video posted<\/a> to social media. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists, unlike the previous administration. Instead we&rsquo;re renaming the ship after a United States Navy Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. As it should be. People want to be proud of the ship they&rsquo;re sailing in.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Yet despite Hegseth&rsquo;s best efforts, federal agencies are still seemingly in need of more resources and manpower to smoke out others like Donnelly, before it&rsquo;s too late.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has rescinded the nomination of Rear Admiral Michael P. Donnelly for promotion to Vice Admiral after discovering that drag shows took place on the USS Ronald Reagan during his leadership. According to an exclusive report by The Daily Wire, Donnelly&#8217;s confirmation was canceled because, while he commanded the ship from April 2016 to September 2018, Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley performed as a drag queen named &#8220;Harpy Daniels.&#8221; Furthermore, these events were officially categorized as &#8220;Morale, Welfare, and Recreation&#8221; activities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2458362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Pete-Hegseth.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[48805,58891,44930,36160,58892],"class_list":["post-2458361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-military-leadership","tag-navy-vice-admiral-nominee","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-political-controversy","tag-woke-past"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Pete-Hegseth.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458361","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458361"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2458365,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458361\/revisions\/2458365"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2458362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}