The United States military is one of the greatest meritocracies in the free world; we need to make sure that it stays that way. Today, I pressed Secretary Hegseth on the alarming number of senior generals and admirals who were removed from their positions or blocked from promotions. More than half of these service members were female or black. For the first time in more than a decade, no active-duty female naval officers are likely to be promoted to admiral. Reports that women and people of color are disproportionately fired or sidelined create the impression that their service is not valued. This will discourage well-qualified women and people of color from joining our Armed Forces, depriving us of their talent, dedication, and patriotism.