INHOFE ‘HOPES’ SHANAHAN WILL SOON GET NOD: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe has told acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan that he believes President Trump will soon nominate him to replace Jim Mattis, who resigned in December over Trump’s Syria withdrawal plan and other policy differences.

Inhofe told our Susan Ferrechio on Capitol Hill yesterday that Shanahan seems more comfortable in the top Pentagon job and the White House seems more comfortable with him, as other candidates have failed to make the cut. “There have been several other names that I know have not been public but have passed through, and they have been pretty much ignored by the president,” the Oklahoma Republican said. “So he’s in shape now to go through.”