President-elect Trump is said to be considering Philip Bilden, of the global private equity firm HarbourVest, to serve as secretary of the Navy under his administration.
Friday marked the first time Bilden’s name has been mentioned in connection to the position, which Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, is expected to fill temporarily after Navy Secretary Ray Mabus steps down.
Josh Rogin of the Washington Post tweeted on Friday that Bilden is Trump’s “likely choice” for the senior Pentagon position. A spokesperson for the president-elect’s transition team could not be reached for confirmation.
A source with knowledge of the transition said that the “billionaire’s club” vote was winning out among Trump’s team members, similar to Trump’s pick of Vincent “Vinnie” Viola, the founder of Virtu Financial, to serve as Army secretary. Former Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., has been widely considered the front-runner for the job for weeks.
BREAKING: I’m told that Philip M. Bilden, investment executive at HarbourVest, is Trump’s likely choice for Secretary of the Navy.
— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) January 13, 2017
Bilden serves as chairman of the Asia Advisory Council for the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association and is on the board of visitors for Georgetown University and Asia Pacific Advisory Board of Harvard Business School.
He also serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation. Bilden has never served in the Navy.
Besides Navy, Trump must also nominate an Air Force secretary.
