President Trump’s pick for Navy secretary will finally get an initial Senate nomination hearing on Tuesday, followed by four other Pentagon nominees on Wednesday, according to a committee aide.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will consider Richard V. Spencer, a financier and former Marine aviator, to be the service’s top civilian in what is a first step toward confirming a key military position that remains unfilled under the Trump administration.
The Navy Department has been helmed by acting Secretary Sean Stackley, an Obama administration holdover, as the service has worked to justify its annual budget to Congress. If approved, Spencer could help Trump put his stamp on the Navy at a time when it hopes to shore up depleted forces and prepare to grow the fleet.
Spencer’s committee hearing was originally set June, but the hearing was postponed due to Senate work on repealing and replacing Obamacare. The Senate Armed Services Committee must first approve the Navy secretary nomination before it can move to the full Senate for final confirmation.
On Wednesday, the committee will also hold a hearing to consider four more nominees, the committee aide said.
- David J. Trachtenberg for principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy.
- Owen O. West for assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.
- Ryan D. McCarthy for undersecretary of the Army.
- Charles D. Stimson for general counsel of the Navy.
The hearings show a quickened pace after the administration has been slow to fill key appointed positions during its first six months in office.
Trump’s original choice for Navy secretary, private equity investor Philip Bilden, withdrew from consideration in February after he found it too difficult to divest his business holdings to meet ethics requirements.
But the hearings also highlight the lack of a nominee for the Army, the largest branch of the military. The president first nominated Vincent Viola, who dropped out due to business entanglements in February, and then Tennessee state senator Mark Green, who bowed out in May following left-wing criticism over his comments on gay marriage, transgender rights, and Islam.
