Biden formally nominates LaPlante for DOD acquisition chief

By Tony Bertuca / February 28, 2022 at 5:57 PM

President Biden has officially nominated former Air Force acquisition chief Bill LaPlante to be under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, according to an announcement from the White House.

Biden announced his intent to nominate LaPlante in November, but the Senate did not officially receive the nomination until today.

Analysts say LaPlante, who served as the Air Force acquisition executive from February 2014 to November 2015, is unlikely to run into much opposition on Capitol Hill given his extensive defense background.

Additionally, LaPlante is known to have good relationships with two other Obama-era officials now at DOD: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.

The White House has touted LaPlante’s background in defense technology.

"Dr. William A. LaPlante is a seasoned national security leader with nearly four decades of experience in acquisition, technology, sustainment and the defense industrial base," the White House said. "Dr. LaPlante has spent much of those decades delivering material as well as conceptual innovations to enhance national security capabilities and efficiency."

After leaving government, LaPlante became a senior vice president at MITRE, where he was general manager of the company's national security sector, which includes two federally funded research and development centers -- the National Security Engineering Center and the National Cybersecurity FFRDC. In September 2020, he became the new president and CEO of The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA.

If confirmed, LaPlante would replace Andrew Hunter, who was recently confirmed as Air Force acquisition chief but is currently the acting USD/A&S.

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