President Obama has named Ashton Carter, a former deputy defense secretary and top weapons buyer, as his nominee to run the Pentagon.
Obama, who made the announcement Friday during remarks in the White House Roosevelt Room, called Carter “one of the foremost national security leaders” who has combined “strategic perspective and technical know-how” during a distinguished record of service spanning more than 30 years.
He said he has relied on Carter’s expertise and his judgment when he was serving as deputy defense secretary and believes no one is more qualified for the job.
“On day one he is going to hit the ground running,” Obama said. “Ash is known by our friends around the world and is respected and trusted on both sides of the aisle” and has a very true and abiding “love for the men and women in uniform.”
In a lighter moment, Obama mentioned that Carter is a big Motown fan, and one of his favorite songs is “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)” by the Four Tops. The message seemed particularly appropriate — an apparent recognition of Carter’s willingness to step in a take on the top Pentagon role after Obama awkwardly dumped outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
Hagel, who Obama pushed out after harsh criticism about his military policies and deep Democratic midterm election losses, was notably absent from the ceremony.
Carter is a nuclear physicist who served as deputy defense secretary from October 2011 to December 2013. Over the course of his career, the Senate has confirmed him three times or different Pentagon roles, and he has the support of some of Obama’s harshest foreign policy critics, including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In his remarks Friday, Carter called it an “honor and a privilege” to be nominated and said he accepted the role because of the “bright opportunities” that lie ahead for the country and his dedication to the inspiring men and women in the military.
He also pledged to give Obama “the most candid strategic advice” but also “to keep faith with you and serve our nation with the same unflinching dedication that you demonstrate every day.”
While at the Pentagon and in the private sector, Carter has often broken with the official policy line but is expected to faithfully implement Obama’s policies for the presidents’ last two remaining years in office.
As deputy secretary of defense, he opposed the complete draw down of troops in Iraq, and early in his career, during the Reagan administration, argued that the Star Wars missile defense system wasn’t feasible. More recently, Carter pressed to increase competition in Pentagon contracting, and defense firms are bracing for more stringent oversight.
The Senate is expected to confirm his nomination easily, although they will undoubtedly grill him on the administration’s strategy to degrade and destroy the Islamic State and combat the Ebola outbreak in Western Africa, as well as his views on revamping how the military handles sexual harassment and assault complaints.
A defense official said Hagel didn’t attend the White House ceremony because the “day belongs to Carter” and he didn’t want to “detract from our distract the proper focus of the day.”
“As Secretary Hagel knows better than most, today is a day that is to celebrate Ash, his family, and all that he will accomplish,” he said, noting that Hagel looks forward to working with Carter, the Department of Defense staff, the White House and Congress to ensure a “speedy confirmation process and a successful transition” at the Pentagon.
Hagel issued a statement calling Carter a “patriot and a leader” and strongly supporting his nomination.
“He is a renowned strategist, scientist and scholar with expertise spanning from international security and counterterrorism to science, technology, and innovation,” Hagel said. “And I know that Ash and Stephanie are committed to America’s men and women in uniform, and their families.”
McCain also praised Carter’s selection, calling him a “highly competent, experienced, hard-working and committed public servant, but also warned that he will face tough questioning during his confirmation hearing about Obama’s “feckless foreign policy and its grave consequences for the safety and security of our nation.”
The Arizona Republican also predicted that Carter, like his predecessors in the job have experienced, will have to deal with heavy-handed micromanagement from the White House and will have little influence on military policies as a result.
“As former secretaries Bob Gates and Leon Panetta recently suggested, the next secretary of defense may also be subject to incessant micromanagement by the White House on a level not seen since the Vietnam War,” he said.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich, the outgoing chairman of the Armed Services panel, was on hand for the White House ceremony Friday, and Obama took the opportunity to thank him for his years of service.
Later in a statement, Levin said he believed Carter was not only highly qualified and experienced, but also “well-versed” in the challenges the job poses.
“He brings deep knowledge of the department’s processes and its people. He’s not only exceptionally knowledgeable about the technologies that are essential to protecting our security, but also about America’s role in the world,” Levin said. “Beyond that, he understands that decisions we make in Washington have real consequences for our troops in the field, for their families, and for communities across the nation.”
This article was originally published at 11:21 a.m. and has since been updated.
