Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., is urging President-elect Trump’s team to pick Rep. Randy Forbes to serve as secretary of the Navy.
Courtney sent a letter last week to Vice President-elect Mike Pence officially offering his support for Forbes, R-Va., to lead the Navy.
“Having seen Randy at work up close in hearings, meetings and all-night mark-ups, I know that he truly understands both the big picture strategic challenges we face, along with the day-to-day responsibilities of leading the Navy,” Courtney wrote in the letter, which was obtained by the Washington Examiner on Monday.
Courtney has served for the past two years as ranking member of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, which Forbes chairs.
The congressman also voiced his support for increasing the size of the Navy, a priority for Trump, who said on the campaign trail that he wanted to see a 350-ship fleet.
“Given the complexity of our industrial base and competing priorities [of] the Navy and the larger Defense Department, it will be critical that the Navy is led by someone who knows how the Navy, Congress and industry works,” Courtney wrote. “I can think of no better individual to be tasked with this responsibility than Randy.”
Forbes lost his re-election bid this year when Rep.-elect Scott Taylor unseated him in the Republican primary. A source with knowledge of transition decisions said Forbes is Trump’s top pick to lead the Navy, and the Center for a New American Security expert Jerry Hendrix as the leading contender to be undersecretary of the Navy.
2016-12-01 — Letter to VP Elect Pence on Nomination of J Randy Forbes as SecNav by Daniel on Scribd
