Questions abound as Patrick Shanahan era begins at the Pentagon

IT’S SHANAHAN’S TURN: After a brief phone call between the two men New Year’s Eve, outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis turned over to his former deputy Patrick Shanahan the awesome responsibility of leading the Pentagon’s 1.4 active duty military, 700,000 civilians, and another 1.1 million Guard and Reserve troops. Shanahan’s name is now on the gold plaque outside the defense secretary’s third-floor office.

Shanahan spent 30 years at Boeing building airplanes, where he was known as a “Mr. Fix-it.” While Shanahan has no prior military or government experience, he has been working hand-in-glove with Mattis. Aides insist he has been instrumental in policy, including fashioning the new National Defense Strategy, which calls for shifting away from counter-terrorism and focusing more on countering near-peer competitors Russia and China. He’s no dummy, holding an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, as well as two advanced degrees from MIT — including an MBA.