Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2025-07-11/michael-donnelly-7th-fleet-hegseth-drag-show-18405990.html
Source – Stars and Stripes
The Pentagon withdrew the promotion of rear admiral Michael ‘Buzz’ Donnelly to the rank of vice admiral and command of the 7th Fleet.
The 7th Fleet is the Navy’s largest overseas force.
The Daily Wire reported that it questioned the Trump administration about Donnelly allowing Yeoman 2nd Class Joshua Kelley to perform as drag queen “Harpy Daniels” at a “Morale, Welfare, and Recreation” event on USS Ronald Reagan while the ship was under Donnelly’s command.
“(A) source at the Defense Department said that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is withdrawing Donnelly’s nomination to lead the 7th Fleet,” the Wire reported. “Hegseth is looking for a new 7th Fleet commander, the source shared.”
The Wire also noted that Donnelly’s previous promotion to his current position was one of the many military promotions that Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama delayed for months in protest of the Biden Pentagon’s insistence on subsidizing abortions in the military.
It wasn’t just one drag show.
FIRED BECAUSE OF DRAG SHOWS IN THE NAVY!
The US Department of Defense has officially withdrawn the candidacy of Rear Admiral Michael “Buzz” Donnelly for promotion to the rank of vice admiral and appointment to the post of commander of the 7th Fleet of the US Navy.
The… pic.twitter.com/YMDMqG3Wr0
— Michael Cook (@Michael91387113) July 13, 2025
Kelley also held a controversial role as a digital ambassador.
The conservative nonprofit America First Legal criticized Kelley’s role as a “digital ambassador” and alleged Kelley took part in inappropriate political activity, showed contempt toward superiors and misused a service member’s uniform. America First Legal,
In a June 2023 letter to then-Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and other senior administrators, demanded an investigation into its allegations. “In order to preserve the Navy’s reputation, swift action must be taken to restore good order and discipline and to prevent further partisan activity that implies Navy endorsement of particular candidates and causes,” Jacob Meckler, the group’s legal adviser, said in a news release at the time.
Doesn’t the Navy have similar ceremonies when they cross the International Date Line and the Equator where they do all kinds of silly shit like this?
Reprehensible Bastard.
Trumps ‘Epstein Island’ adventure is 100 times worse. Children were harmed.
This man, called a rear admiral, tried to push all the right buttons to get promoted, and he botched it badly. He was trying to impress Obama and carried on up through Biden. He should just retire, he is not needed. A thing I find suspicious about him is that his personal life is a mystery.
If pResident Autopen Bidumb was still in the White House, he, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Silly Milley would have offered Command of the 7th Fleet to Admiral Richard (Rachel) Levine.