President Donald Trump plans to nominate Patrick Shanahan, a
former Boeing Co executive, as his defense secretary, the White House said on
Thursday, breaking with tradition by choosing someone who made a career at a
top defense company as Pentagon chief, Reuters reported.
Shanahan had been under investigation by the Pentagon
inspector general for allegedly seeking preferential treatment of Boeing while
at the Defense Department but he was cleared of wrongdoing in April. He has
been acting defense secretary since January, the longest in Pentagon history.
“Based upon his outstanding service to the country and his
demonstrated ability to lead, President Trump intends to nominate Patrick M.
Shanahan to be the secretary of defense,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders
said in a statement.
Early tests for Shanahan will include handling growing
tensions with Iran, renewed missile tests by North Korea and questions about
how the United States should handle the political and economic crisis in Venezuela.
Shanahan said in a statement that he was committed to
modernizing US military forces and if confirmed would aggressively implement
Trump’s national defense strategy which prioritizes competition with China and
Russia over the counterinsurgency wars that have consumed the Pentagon for much
of the past two decades.
Shanahan, 56, was thrust into the role in an acting capacity
in January, after Jim Mattis abruptly resigned over policy differences with
Trump.
On his first day as acting Pentagon chief in January,
Shanahan told civilian leaders of the US military to focus on “China, China,
China.”
The Trump administration has announced its intention to
withdraw most US troops from Syria and diplomatic efforts are underway to bring
an end to the 17-year-old war Afghanistan.
But the most pressing short-term issue is likely to be Iran.
Earlier this week the Pentagon said it was sending a carrier strike group and
bombers to the Middle East after US intelligence signaled possible preparations
by Tehran to stage attacks against US forces or interests.
Shanahan is expected to be confirmed by senators, though he
could face a tough confirmation process because of his tenure at Boeing.
Lawmakers have previously expressed concern about undue
influence on the Pentagon from defense companies.
Ties between Boeing and the Trump administration run deep,
with Trump using the company’s products and sites as a backdrop for major
announcements.
Boeing, the world’s largest planemaker, is facing one of the
biggest crises in its 103-year history following the disasters on Lion Air in
Indonesia last year and another on Ethiopian Airlines in March, which together
killed all 346 on board.
The Pentagon inspector general started the investigation of
Shanahan in March for allegedly promoting Boeing in Pentagon meetings and
disparaging competitors. But a report published on April 25 said none of the
allegations were substantiated.
Defense secretaries have traditionally come from a political
or policy background, serving as a counterweight to the military brass in
decision making. Mattis, a retired Marine general, was one of the few former
military leaders to become secretary.
Mattis implicitly criticized Trump in his resignation letter
for failing to value allies who fight alongside the United States, including in
places like Syria.
Shanahan is unlikely to be an effective counterweight to
Trump’s often impulsive decision making. He toured the US border with Mexico in
February in what was seen as a show of support for Trump’s planned border wall.
BOEING TIES
Shanahan has been serving in an acting capacity since the
start of the year, making him the longest acting defense secretary ever. He joined
Boeing in 1986 and spent more than three decades there, working on the 737 and
787 Dreamliner commercial airplanes.
Shanahan was also the president and general manager of
Boeing Missile Defense Systems and worked on the Apache, Chinook and Osprey military
aircraft.
Trump himself has been a strong proponent of military
products made by US defense companies. In phone calls and public appearances
with world leaders, Trump has gone further than any of his predecessors to act
as a salesman for the US defense industry.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said Shanahan believed that he was answerable to Trump and it was
his job to implement decisions made by the president.
In February, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, Senator James Inhofe, said he did not think Trump would nominate
Shanahan. But since then, officials say Inhofe has privately told Shanahan he
would back him.
“We need a confirmed leader at the Department and, after
working with him closely over the last few months, I welcome his selection,”
Inhofe said in a statement on Thursday.
During Shanahan’s Senate confirmation hearing to be deputy
defense secretary in 2017, the committee’s then-chairman, John McCain, voiced
deep concern about giving the deputy job to an executive from one of the five
corporations accounting for the lion’s share of US defense spending.
“I have to have confidence that the fox is not going to be
put back into the henhouse,” said McCain, who died in August.
