The Senate voted Friday to confirm retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis as the next defense secretary.
Friday, May 10, 2024
Friday, May 10, 2024
Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
The Senate voted Friday to confirm retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis as the next defense secretary.
Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work on Thursday released a list of officials designated to serve in "acting" capacities for a host of Pentagon leadership positions as many Obama administration appointees exit government service in advance of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Friday.
The Aerospace Industries Association is urging the Senate to immediately confirm President-elect Donald Trump's national security nominees, including James Mattis as defense secretary; John Kelly as Homeland Security Secretary and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) as CIA director.
Some must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) announced today that Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) would chair a new cyber subcommittee, while Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), would be its ranking member.
The Senate Armed Services Committee convened in closed session today and voted 26-1 to approve the nomination of retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to be the next defense secretary, according to a statement from the committee.
After a yearlong investigation, the Government Accountability Office has concluded that the Defense Department needs a new policy to better run its $60 billion Overseas Contingency Operations account, which some critics, including the nominee to be the next chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget, have called a "slush fund."
Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's outgoing acquisition chief, said today he is worried that the Trump administration will seek to appoint officials from the private sector who are not familiar with the Defense Department or its culture in an effort to achieve some sort of creative disruption.
The week ahead is dominated by the Friday inauguration of Donald Trump as 45th president of the United States. Outgoing Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other defense officials are expected to make farewell speeches and participate in retirement ceremonies.
A new budget blueprint drawn up by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) would fund a massive military buildup by seeking an additional $430 billion in defense spending above what the Obama administration had planned for the next five years, Inside Defense has learned.
The House voted 268-151 in favor of changing existing law to allow retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary, despite having spent fewer than seven years out of uniform. Mattis has been retired three years.
Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's acquisition chief, will leave his job Jan. 19, setting the stage for his office to be disestablished over the course of the next year and its responsibilities divided up between two new congressionally mandated posts -- a chief innovation officer and an official who manages programs.
President-elect Donald Trump will meet today in New York with Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson to discuss the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, according to Trump's transition team.
Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work formally announced today he will be staying on in his post until his successor is named.
The Senate voted 81-17 to approve a change to existing law that would allow retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary, despite having not been out of uniform for at least seven years. Mattis has been retired three years.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) criticized President-elect Donald Trump's transition team for pulling defense secretary nominee and retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis from today's hearing on civilian control of the military.
The Senate Armed Services Committee today voted 24-3 in favor to support a measure that amends existing law to allow retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis to serve as defense secretary though he has not been out of uniform for at least seven years.
Defense secretary nominee and retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee today that President-elect Donald Trump, though he has been critical of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, seeks only to lower its costs, not derail it.
Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be defense secretary, has, like many officials before him, pledged to conduct a review of the Pentagon's acquisition system as part of a broader effort to institute "business-minded" reforms.
The House Armed Services Committee has canceled a Thursday hearing with retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, because, according to congressional aides, the Trump transition team requested it.