A senior vice president at Lockheed Martin is a top contender to be President Trump’s No. 2 in the Pentagon, two sources familiar with the negotiations said on Tuesday.
Robert Rangel, who was named senior vice president of strategic enterprise initiatives at Lockheed Martin in 2015 and previously served as the head of Washington operations, is a leading candidate for the deputy defense secretary job, which includes focusing on day-to-day operations of the Pentagon and internal management of the budget, the sources said.
Prior to joining Lockheed Martin in 2011, Rangel served as the special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates as well as a staff director for the House Armed Services Committee, according to his biography.
Since the election, Trump has met multiple times with Lockheed Martin’s CEO Marillyn Hewson over concerns about the cost of the F-35 program.
A Lockheed Martin spokeswoman declined to comment.
One of two the sources, a former defense official, said former Sen. Jim Talent is also under consideration for the job because of his experience on Capitol Hill, but that Rangel has an edge over the former Missouri Republican.
David McCormick, the president of the Bridgewater Associates hedge fund and another name floated to serve as deputy defense secretary, has reportedly withdrawn himself from consideration.
With top Cabinet positions in place or on their way to confirmation, the source said that the administration is turning its attention now to narrowing the field for deputies at both the State Department and the Pentagon. For the deputy defense secretary job, officials are looking for someone from defense industry or with a business management background, the source said.
Byron Callan, an analyst at Capital Alpha Partners, previously stressed the importance of getting someone into that job with a background in industry to explain why defense platforms cost so much to both Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a retired four-star officer.
“He’s always operated at the pointy end of the spear, he hasn’t been in the workshop where the spears are made,” Callan said.
The deputy position is currently held by Robert Work, who was appointed in 2014 under President Obama and agreed to stay on in the Trump administration until a successor is named, although the Trump team has reportedly discussed keeping him in the position for up to six months.
