Heritage Foundation naval analyst nominated to lead MARAD

The White House has tapped Navy veteran and Heritage Foundation research fellow Brett Sadler to head the Maritime Administration, according to a congressional posting Monday.

The nomination has been referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and it is currently unclear when Sadler’s confirmation hearing will take place.

If confirmed, Sadler would replace former MARAD Administrator Ann Phillips, who stepped down from the role in January.

Sadler’s nomination follows discussion earlier this month between officials and lawmakers on MARAD’s need for more ships. The domestic industrial base has also been under intense focus, as President Trump announced the creation of a new shipbuilding office during his joint address to Congress in March.

The limit on buying used and foreign vessels should be raised even higher, Gen. Randall Reed, commander of U.S. Transportation Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this month. The Maritime Administration is an agency under TRANSCOM.

TRANSCOM, in tandem with MARAD, has purchased seven used vessels and expects to buy two more in fiscal year 2025, he said.

“We are grateful that Congress increased the statutory limit to 10 used ships in the FY-25 National Defense Authorization Act,” Reed’s statement to the committee read. “The Navy and MARAD are expected to reach that 10-ship limit in FY-26 yet our ability to maintain credible capacity will remain constrained because 30 ships are scheduled to retire between 2026 and 2034.”