President Donald Trump has appointed Robert Salesses, a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, as acting secretary of the Department of Defense, DOD News reported Monday.
Salesses will serve as interim DOD secretary until a permanent secretary is confirmed by the Senate. Trump’s current nominee, Pete Hegseth, is still undergoing discussion.
Robert Salesses’ Career Background
Salesses most recently served as deputy director of Washington Headquarters Services, a DOD Field Activity. In this capacity, he was the principal adviser to the director, overseeing a portfolio of integrated operational services to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, military departments, defense agencies, Congress and the Executive Office of the President.
The senior executive service member’s DOD career included time as deputy assistant secretary of defense for defense continuity and mission assurance and deputy assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense integration and defense support of civil authorities, where he served as principal career civilian adviser to eight secretaries of defense.
He started his federal civilian service by serving as the special assistant for the Homeland Security Task Force.
Appointment of Acting Service Secretaries
In addition to Salesses, the White House appointed Mark Averill, head of the Army’s Office of the Administrative Assistant, as acting secretary of the Army and Terence Emmert, most recently principal deputy chief technology officer for mission capabilities at DOD, as acting secretary of the Navy.
The president also named Gary Ashworth, who served as acting assistant secretary of defense for acquisition at DOD, as acting secretary of the Air Force.
