President Trump’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff weighed in on the Pentagon’s leadership woes, telling the Senate that the military needs confirmed civilian leaders to stay effective.
Army Gen. Mark Milley told the Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing that having civilian Pentagon leaders vetted and confirmed is a major aid to those who serve in uniform. His comments come as the Pentagon’s top civilian leadership positions are in a state of flux and the department has been without a Senate-confirmed secretary for seven months.
“[I]n terms of the effectiveness and the efficiency of the department, it would be much better to have the nominees fully vetted and confirmed because that gives us much more effectiveness in terms of dealing with our adversaries, our allies, on the Hill, the American people, and so on and so forth,” Milley said. “So I am very much in favor of getting them through the process and getting them confirmed.”
Previous acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan’s decision to withdraw from the nomination process last month created a succession crisis. Army Secretary Mark Esper took over the duties of acting secretary, but his nomination to head the Pentagon permanently will require him to return to the Army once paperwork is filed. At that point, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer will take over as acting defense secretary. His deputy, Navy Undersecretary Thomas Modly, will serve as acting Navy secretary while Esper’s nomination makes its way though the Senate.
The Navy is also facing leadership challenges due to the unexpected retirement of Adm. William Moran earlier this week. The Senate had confirmed Moran to take over as chief of naval operations on Aug. 1, but he opted to retire after it came out that he maintained a professional relationship with a former public affairs officer accused of inappropriate conduct. The decision shocked many in the Navy community who considered Moran ideal for the job of modernizing the fleet to counter threats posed by China and Russia.
If confirmed, Milley will be tasked with overseeing the military’s transition from nearly two decades of focus on counter-terrorism operations toward great power competitions with Russia and China.
