President Trump sent the Senate his nomination of Army Secretary Mark Esper to become defense secretary just one day before Esper’s scheduled confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill.
The nomination sets into motion a succession process that requires Esper to return to his duties as Army secretary and makes Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer acting defense secretary.
“As such, Secretary Spencer has the full authority and responsibility of the Secretary of Defense,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Michael Andrews said in a statement. “The senior team supporting the Office of the Secretary remains in place to ensure institutional continuity.”
Undersecretary of the Navy Thomas Modly will take over the duties of Navy secretary, and Undersecretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy will relinquish his temporary duties as Army secretary.
The unexpected resignation of acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan in June set the unusual series of events in motion. Shanahan removed himself from the nomination process due to revelations of his family’s history of domestic abuse and his desire not to have his family relive difficult moments.
“I would welcome the opportunity to be Secretary of Defense, but not at the expense of being a good father,” Shanahan said in a statement.
Spencer will be the third acting secretary this year as the Pentagon continues to struggle with leadership vacancies. In addition to losing Shanahan, Navy Adm. William Moran announced he would retire instead of taking over as chief of naval operations, despite already being confirmed by the Senate, after Spencer questioned his judgment on learning he kept up a professional relationship with a press officer reprimanded after behaving inappropriately at a Navy Christmas party.
Esper will appear Tuesday morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee after the committee waived the usual seven-day waiting period between receiving a nomination and holding a confirmation hearing.
“We need Senate-confirmed leadership at the Pentagon, and quickly,” Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe, committee chairman, said last week.
That sentiment was echoed by Army Gen. Mark Milley, the nominee to take over as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“[I]n terms of the effectiveness and the efficiency of the department, it would be much better to have the nominees fully vetted and confirmed because that gives us much more effectiveness in terms of dealing with our adversaries, our allies, on the Hill, the American people, and so on and so forth,” Milley said during his confirmation hearing Friday. “So I am very much in favor of getting them through the process and getting them confirmed.”
