Defense Secretary Ash Carter plans to keep doing his job, according to his spokesman, one day after the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee warned him against shoving through major personnel changes in the final weeks of the Obama administration.
“The secretary will continue to carry out his responsibilities as the secretary of defense as he has up to this point, through the end of his term,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters on Tuesday.
On Monday, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., wrote a letter to Carter telling him to avoid changing “long-standing policy” as this administration winds down.
“Many of the department’s recent actions in this regard have been questionable and misguided, and any effort to continue in that direction during a presidential transition and lame-duck session of Congress would be inappropriate,” McCain’s letter said.
McCain wrote that Congress will work next year “building on the landmark reforms that begun over the past two years” on the military personnel system.
“This important, bipartisan work will proceed with the transparency, public scrutiny, and congressional oversight that it deserves. Until that time, please refrain from making and further implementing any major policy changes through executive action,” McCain wrote.
Cook responded that he hasn’t seen the letter. “I’m not aware if the secretary has read it. But of course, we’ll work in collaboration with Congress as the secretary always does. He has a good relationship with Sen. McCain and the secretary is prepared to carry out his responsibilities as required and will continue to do so.”
Cook deflected a follow-up question on whether that includes hiring and firing.
“The secretary of defense will carry out his obligations as required,” Cook said.
It was one of a number of deflections Cook made amid a series of dicey issues, including budget planning, the transition to a new administration and reports that Carter and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper want National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers fired over data breaches.
On Rogers, Cook said he’s “not going to get into private conversations between the president and the secretary of defense.”
On reports that retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis is President-elect Trump’s likely pick to lead the Pentagon: “I know you’re going to be disappointed to hear that I’m not going to weigh in on potential choices made by the next president-elect with regard to this department and the next secretary of defense.”
Finally, on the status of the fiscal 2018 budget: “You’re talking about a fiscal year ’18 budget when we don’t have a fiscal year ’17 budget right now.”
When a reporter pointed out that the budget must be finished by December, Cook responded: “We’ve been focused so much on the current budget situation. Yes, of course, work has been done towards the fiscal year ’18 budget. But I’m not going to characterize exactly where it is at this particular moment in time, other than to say that the professionals within this department, including those responsible for the budget, are doing everything they need to to ensure a smooth transition.
“OK, I think I’ve tired you all out,” Cook said at the end.
