Biden taps DOD industrial policy chief

By Tony Bertuca / May 16, 2022 at 12:29 PM

President Biden intends to nominate Laura Taylor-Kale to be assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, according to the White House.

Taylor-Kale is currently the Fellow for Innovation and Economic Competitiveness at the Council on Foreign Relations. She previously served in the Obama administration as the deputy assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing in the International Trade Administration.

If confirmed, Taylor-Kale will succeed Deborah Rosenblum, assistant defense secretary for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, who has been performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks released a memo in February formally establishing the position.

The job’s duties include ensuring supply chain security, providing analysis on the health of the industrial base, reviewing acquisition investments, coordinating antitrust reviews, overseeing the director of small business programs and overseeing matters pertaining to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

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