The first woman nominated to lead the Naval Special Warfare command overseeing Navy SEALs had her promotion abruptly canceled — and military sources blame Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's hostility to women in combat roles.

CNN reported the Navy captain, a troop commander with Navy SEAL Team Six and a Purple Heart recipient, had been ranked the top officer for promotion in her cohort and was in line to take charge over the elite unit until the plans were scrapped just two weeks before a formal ceremony was scheduled, and thanks to the Navy's “up or out” policy, her military career was effectively ended.

“They want to keep it the brotherhood and don’t like that she’s coming in and challenging the status quo,” a Navy special operations source familiar with the situation told CNN.....

One defense official familiar with the matter said there had been discussions about whether the role was necessary, and a Pentagon source said Hegseth was not involved and the captain's nomination was pulled because she was not a SEAL, but multiple sources told CNN they didn't buy those explanations.

“They can justify it by saying she’s not qualified because she’s not a SEAL,” said one retired SEAL. “But the SEALs thought she was qualified.”