July 16, 2019

Defense Department scrambles to fill top job as vacancies and acting appointees pile up

Featuring: Jim Townsend

Source: The Los Angeles Times

Journalist: David S. Cloud

Reporting from Washington — Who is running the Pentagon?

These days it can change with dizzying speed as the Trump administration struggles to find nominees for top civilian and military jobs whom President Trump likes and who can survive Senate confirmation.

The latest job shuffling came Monday as President Trump formally nominated acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper to permanently take over the job.

The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hold Esper’s confirmation hearing Tuesday, and the full Senate is likely to vote on the nomination as early as Thursday.

Read the full article and more in The Los Angeles Times.

Author

  • Jim Townsend

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Security Program

    James Joye Townsend Jr. is an adjunct senior fellow in the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program. After eight years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for European ...