White House withdraws DOD comptroller nominee

The White House has withdrawn the nomination of former GE executive Jeffrey Bornstein, whom President Trump tapped in May to serve as Pentagon comptroller.

The reason for Bornstein’s withdrawal was not immediately clear, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment. An attempt to reach Bornstein for comment was not immediately successful.

Bornstein, currently a managing partner at Generation Capital Partners, previously served as chief financial officer of GE from July 2013 to October 2017. He left GE in 2017 after 28 years with the company.

Meanwhile, the government shutdown has stretched into its 22nd day and withdrawal of Bornstein’s nomination means the Trump administration is without a Senate-confirmed official to manage DOD’s nearly $1 trillion in annual spending.

The current official who is performing the duties of Pentagon comptroller is Jules Hurst, who was previously performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs. He has been acting as DOD comptroller since August.

In April, Hurst was named as the head of a DOD task force focused on eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Hurst previously worked as legislative director and defense advisor to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).