Trump signaled late Friday he intends to nominate Army Secretary Mark Esper to permanently fill the role. But Esper, who is set to take over as acting Defense head on Monday, will still need his nomination formally submitted to the Senate.
Lawmakers argue that growing tensions with Iran and looming funding negotiations — where lawmakers will need to agree to raise the caps on defense spending — require Trump to move quickly to get a Senate-confirmed official in place at the Pentagon.
View the complete June 22 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.