Trump intends to nominate Esper as secretary of defense
Source: Washington Post
National Security
Trump intends to nominate Esper as secretary of defense
By Paul Sonne, National security reporter focusing on the U.S. military; and Josh Dawsey
June 21 at 4:30 PM
President Trump is expected to soon announce his intention to nominate Army Secretary Mark T. Esper to serve permanently as his secretary of defense, a senior administration official said Friday, as the Pentagon faces a leadership vacuum amid a mounting confrontation with Iran.
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Esper, who studied in the same U.S. Military Academy class as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, began a long career as an Army infantryman that included serving in the Gulf War. He later became a Washington insider, honing his defense policy skills as an adviser to Republican lawmakers, a top civilian Pentagon official, a top official at a conservative think tank, a lobbyist for defense contractor Raytheon and most recently the top civilian overseeing the U.S. Army.
His deep understanding of Washington’s inner workings marks a stark contrast to the background of acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan, who joined the Pentagon after decades of working in the private sector at Boeing and entered government without a military background or the long-standing relationships typical of high-level Defense Department officials.
News of Trump’s intent to nominate Esper was first reported by the New York Times.
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Paul Sonne covers the U.S. military and national security. He previously reported for the Wall Street Journal from Moscow, London and Washington. Follow https://twitter.com/PaulSonne
Josh Dawsey is a White House reporter for The Washington Post. He joined the paper in 2017. He previously covered the White House for Politico, and New York City Hall and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for the Wall Street Journal. Follow https://twitter.com/jdawsey1
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-intends-to-nominate-esper-as-secretary-of-defense/2019/06/21/6bf4d91c-9434-11e9-b72d-d56510fa753e_story.html
Trump intends to nominate Esper as secretary of defense
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