Hegseth pulls Donnelly nomination to 7th Fleet after questions about carrier drag shows [View all]

Source: Stars and Stripes

The Pentagon has pulled the nomination of Rear Adm. Michael “Buzz” Donnelly to lead the 7th Fleet following questions from a conservative news outlet about drag shows aboard an aircraft carrier nearly 10 years ago. Donnelly was nominated June 18 by President Donald Trump for promotion to vice admiral and command of 7th Fleet, based at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, and the Navy’s largest overseas force. However, Defense Secretary

Pete Hegseth has rescinded Donnelly’s nomination, an unidentified Pentagon spokesperson said Friday by email to Stars and Stripes. The spokesperson, who declined to identify themselves, would not comment on whether the decision to withdraw Donnelly’s nomination was related to drag shows.

Donnelly, currently the head of the Chief of Naval Operations’ air warfare division, was commander of the Ronald Reagan from 2016 to 2017. He also led Carrier Strike Group 5 and Task Force 70 at Yokosuka Naval Base from 2021 to 2023. While Donnelly was skipper of the Reagan, then-Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Kelley occasionally performed drag shows aboard the carrier under the stage name “Harpy Daniels.” Kelley also managed to win second place and a $1,000 Navy Exchange gift card in a lip-sync competition aboard the carrier, the Military Times reported in August 2018.

Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2025-07-11/michael-donnelly-7th-fleet-hegseth-drag-show-18405990.html

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