Tag Archives: defense secretary

Donald Rumsfeld, a two-time defense secretary, passed away Wednesday at the age of 88. Rumsfeld served as secretary of the Department of Defense in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush. Gen. Lloyd Austin, DOD secretary and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, issued a statement on Rumsfeld’s passing and accomplishments as a public servant.

The Senate has confirmed Gen. Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense in a 93-2 vote on Friday. President Biden said that Austin has “intimate knowledge of the Department of Defense,” which will support Biden's defense initiatives. His confirmation follows Congress' approval of the waiver to facilitate Austin’s confirmation on Thursday. 

Defense Secretary James Mattis stated unequivocally that “we are not winning in Afghanistan” in a Congressional hearing Tuesday. Speaking to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Mattis was under fire from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) who questioned the former four-star general on why Trump’s administration has delayed in its roll-out …

Veteran national security policy guru John Rood is a leading candidate to serve Defense Secretary James Mattis as the next undersecretary of defense for policy, U.S. defense officials said, reported The Washington Times. This key policymaking position within the Pentagon might be headed up by Rood, a missile defense and …

The Senate approved a congressional waiver to help ease the path for retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis’ confirmation as defense secretary under President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration through an 81-17 vote Thursday, Politico reported Thursday. Jeremy Herb and Connor O’Brien write the waiver legislation would exempt Mattis from a law that requires a seven-year wait for former …

The Congress-approved fiscal 2017 defense authorization bill contains a provision that would require the Defense Department and Internal Revenue Service to publish data on U.S.’ war-related expenditures online, Military Times reported Sunday. Leo Shane III writes Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) authored the provision in an effort to spark discussions among …

The U.S. Navy has declined to submit a fiscal year 2018 budget plan to the Defense Department that includes $17 billion in budget cuts to shipbuilding programs in the next five years, the Navy Times reported Wednesday. David B. Larter writes Defense Secretary Ashton Carter asked the service branch to advance …

The Defense Department has pledged $10 million to aid the Colombian government’s humanitarian mine clearance operations as part of the U.S.’ continued support for the ongoing peace process in Colombia, DoD News reported Monday. DoD News reports that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his Colombian counterpart Luis Carlos Villegas talked about bilateral military relations Monday over the phone. …

President Barack Obama has nominated Gen. John Hyten, current commander of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base, as the next commander of the U.S. Strategic Command. If appointed, Hyten will support Stratcom with its global missions in strategic deterrence, space operations, joint electronic warfare, global strike and missile defense, …

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said the U.S. and the U.K. will continue to work together as part of the coalition campaign to defeat the Islamic State militant group and other  international threats, DoD News reported Wednesday. Cheryl Pellerin writes Carter addressed the role of the U.S. and the U.K. against those threats …