Senate confirms three senior DOD officials

The Senate voted last night to confirm three senior Pentagon officials before the end of the year.

Lisa Hershman was confirmed to be the Defense Department's chief management officer, a job she has held in an acting capacity since former CMO Jay Gibson resigned in November 2018. Congress intended the CMO to be the third-most-senior position at the Pentagon when the post was created by the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

Dana Deasy was confirmed as DOD's chief information officer. He was appointed CIO last year, but Congress decided to make the post a Senate-confirmed position.

Additionally, Robert Sander was confirmed as Navy general counsel.

The confirmations come amid a series of high-profile exits and planned departures from DOD, including Kari Bingen, the principal deputy under secretary of defense for intelligence, Randall Schriver, who oversees DOD's policy on Asia, and Jimmy Stewart, who was acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

A host of other officials have also departed the Pentagon, including former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer, whom Defense Secretary Mark Esper fired; Assistant Defense Secretary for Sustainment Robert McMahon, who resigned from his Pentagon post Nov. 22; and Mark Mitchell, who stepped down in October as the acting assistant defense secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict.