Well this is a shock. Trump just announced that Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is withdrawing his nomination:
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….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
….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. I know Mark, and have no doubt he will do a fantastic job!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
Wow. This is so sudden it makes me wonder what they found in Shanahan’s background that might have been a problem for him in the confirmation process. Or did he just have a change of heart?
[UPDATE: According to Fox News, Trump lost confidence in Shanahan’s nomination after the D-Day events (controversy over Navy shipped named after John McCain’s father) as well as some investigation into allegations of domestic abuse after a terrible divorce.
In fact they report that the White House had stalled Shanahan’s nomination, never sending it to Capitol Hill to get the ball rolling.]
I did a quick search and found a few pictures of Secretary of the Army Mark Esper:
ICYMI: @SecArmy Mark T. Esper recently visited @173rdAbnBde #paratroopers at Caserma Del Din in Vicenza, 🇮🇹 Italy, June 4.#ReadinessFirst #TrainToWin #StrongEurope #MeetYourArmy pic.twitter.com/KbR5yVclfI
— US Army Europe (@USArmyEurope) June 11, 2019
“Whether it’s how we man, organize, train or equip the force we are making big shifts. I like to say that the Army is in a renaissance right now.” #Army Secretary Mark Esper
How else is the military’s largest force changing? https://t.co/XxuK4BrqvB pic.twitter.com/s5WjXDIjIz
— DISA (@USDISA) June 13, 2019
UPDATE 2: This is an article from today on the FBI investigating Shanahan over domestic fight…
FBI examining 2010 domestic fight involving acting defense secretary Shanahan; accounts differ on aggressor https://t.co/sGYguFJ3QT via @usatoday
— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) June 18, 2019