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The Senate confirmed former Army Lt. Col. Mark Esper as Secretary of Defense Tuesday, making him the first permanent Pentagon boss since James Mattis resigned last December. Esper, who served 10 years on active duty and 11 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve, was Acting Secretary before his nomination, and Patrick Shanahan had been Acting Secretary prior to that. The vote was not close, with the Senate confirming Esper by a vote of 90-8. The no votes included 2020 Democratic presidential candidates Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan on Tuesday withdrew his nomination to lead the department as a report says the FBI is investigating a domestic violence dispute from nine years ago involving him and his then-wife. “Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who has done a wonderful job, has decided not to go forward with his confirmation process so that he can devote more time to his family,” President Trump wrote in a Twitter posting. “I thank Pat for his outstanding service and will be naming Secretary of the Army, Mark Esper, to be the new Acting Secretary of Defense,” he...

In the months that he has served as President TrumpÂ’s acting secretary of defense, Patrick Shanahan has worked to keep domestic violence incidents within his family private. His wife was arrested after punching him in the face, and his son was arrested after a separate incident in which he hit his mother with a baseball bat. Public disclosure of the nearly decade-old episodes would re-traumatize his young adult children, Shanahan said. On Tuesday, Trump announced in a tweet that Shanahan would not be going through with the nomination process, which had been delayed by an unusually lengthy FBI background check,...

The United States State Department is "seeing signs" of chemical weapons use by Syrian government forces in northwestern Syria. The State Department promising Tuesday that the US and allied nations will respond "quickly and appropriately" if the use of chemical weapons is proven.... Top US officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford briefed members of Congress Tuesday about Iran.... The United Nations representative for Libya says steps need to be taken to cut off arms supplies to Libya where a government ostensibly backed by the UN is...

  05.09.19McConnell Statement on Secretary of Defense Nominee Patrick Shanahan ‘Acting Secretary Patrick Shanahan is a well-regarded leader and the duties of the Secretary are too important for this position to remain unfilled. I look forward to meeting with Acting Secretary Shanahan soon and to the Senate’s prompt consideration of his nomination.’ LOUISVILLE, KY – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following statement regarding the president’s intent to nominate Patrick Shanahan for Secretary of Defense:“I am glad to learn that President Trump has made his choice for the next Secretary of Defense. Acting Secretary Patrick Shanahan is a well-regarded...

President Donald Trump plans to nominate acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan to formally take over the top spot at the Pentagon, the president's spokeswoman said Thursday. Shanahan, a former longtime executive at the aerospace giant Boeing, needs Senate confirmation for the post most recently held by James Mattis. "Acting Secretary Shanahan has proven over the last several months that he is beyond qualified to lead the Department of Defense, and he will continue to do an excellent job," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote on Twitter.

President Trump is expected to formally nominate Patrick M. Shanahan to be his permanent defense secretary as soon as next week, two administration officials tell Fox News. This, after an internal Pentagon investigation concluded that the acting defense secretary did not show any bias in favor of his former employer, aerospace giant Boeing. Shanahan worked at Boeing for over 30 years before coming to the Pentagon as then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s deputy at the start of the Trump administration. Shanahan’s nomination had been held up by the White House since the Pentagon inspector general opened an investigation into Shanahan’s conduct...

Washington— Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan appears to have violated ethics rules by promoting Boeing in the scope of his official duties at the Department of Defense (DOD) and disparaging the company’s competitors to his subordinates, according to a complaint filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington with the DOD’s Office of Inspector General. Before joining DOD, Shanahan worked at Boeing for more than 30 years where he directly oversaw military contract programs including Boeing Missile Defense Systems and Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, as well as commercial production including the 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner. According to news...

The story in the New York Times regarding Jim Webb being considered as the next Secretary of Defense is FAKE NEWS. I’m sure he is a fine man, but I don’t know Jim, and never met him. Patrick Shanahan, who is Acting Secretary of Defense, is doing a great job!

President Trump denounced former Defense Secretary James Mattis on Wednesday, saying at a cabinet meeting he "essentially" fired the former Marine Corps general from the top Pentagon post. "What's he done for me? How had he done in Afghanistan? Not too good," Trump said, according to a Bloomberg News journalist, who reported a quote relayed by a colleague in the room. "As you know, President Obama fired him, and essentially so did I," Trump said at the meeting, attended by Mattis' replacement, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan started his first day on the job Tuesday with a welcome memo that asserted the Pentagon “remains focused on safeguarding our nation” under the direction of President Trump. “As acting secretary of defense, I now look forward to working with President Trump to carry out his vision alongside strong leaders including the service secretaries, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commanders, and senior personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense,” Shanahan wrote. “The Department of Defense continues to be one of our nation’s bedrock institutions. Our foundational strength lies in the remarkable...

Delinquency is no joke, shames proud military tradition “Duty, honor, country” is the motto of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. Contrast that with the Pentagon’s response to its first attempted audit after almost three decades of requests: “We failed the audit, but we never expected to pass it,” said Patrick Shanahan, the current deputy secretary of defense who will assume the title of acting defense secretary starting Jan. 1. This nonchalant, arrogant dismissal of gross accounting errors and fraud is an embarrassment to American exceptionalism and the proud history of the U.S. armed forces. Shanahan’s glib...

President Trump on Sunday said deputy defense secretary Patrick Shanahan will take over as acting secretary of the department on Jan. 1 to cover the accelerated departure of Jim Mattis — after a string of disagreements between Trump and Mattis. The Hill reported that Shanahan wasn’t close with Mattis; however he is liked by the White House. “He’s not a policy or geopolitics guy. He’s a business guy,” a source told Defense News. “But he’s spent the last year learning from the best. And Shanahan is known for having a good relationship” with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The...

Irritated with the criticism and fallout from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' resignation, President Donald Trump on Sunday pushed the Pentagon chief out the door two months earlier than planned, an acrimonious end to a tense relationship that had been eroding in recent months. In a series of tweets, Trump appeared to questions why he had put Mattis in his Cabinet in the first place, and said deputy defense secretary Patrick Shanahan will take over as acting secretary on Jan. 1 to cover the accelerated departure. The sudden change strips Mattis of any chance to further frame national security policy or...