A former Lockheed Martin vice president moved closer to being confirmed to a Pentagon position Thursday despite being hammered by Sens. John McCain and Elizabeth Warren over conflicts of interest during an earlier hearing.
The Armed Services Committee voted to advance John Rood, President Trump’s pick for undersecretary for policy, to the Senate floor. The move cues up his nomination for what could be a final confirmation vote.
Rood was grilled by McCain and Warren over his connections to Lockheed during his Nov. 16 confirmation hearing and whether he would seek a waiver in the future allowing him to be involved as a Pentagon official in the defense giant’s overseas weapons sales.
Despite repeated questioning, Rood refused to rule out seeking a waiver to an ethics agreement that bars him from taking any part in Lockheed business for two years. The heated exchange appeared to momentarily put his nomination in doubt.
“It is not difficult, you should not be making decisions that are relating to your previous employer or would affect the fortunes of one of them,” McCain said at the time. “So I don’t like your answers, most of us don’t like your answers.”
Rood, who was nominated by Trump in October, handled Lockheed’s overseas government relations and marketing. He also worked at the State Department and sat on the National Security Council under former President George W. Bush.
The committee also voted Thursday to advance Trump’s pick for assistant defense secretary overseeing Asia and Pacific affairs, Randall Schriver, to the Senate floor.
