Former Boeing exec steps into spotlight after Mattis' ouster
When Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan faced the Senate Armed Services Committee 17 months ago during his confirmation hearing, Sen. John McCain quickly turned up the heat.
The late Arizona Republican, then the committee chairman, questioned how Shanahan would run day-to-day operations at the Pentagon despite his deep ties to the defense contractor Boeing, and then lit into him for something specific. In prepared answers to questions, Shanahan had said he would review whether the United States should send Ukraine weapons to defend itself against Russian-backed separatists. Shanahan amended his response to say that he would support the idea, but McCain still threatened to stop a vote on his confirmation.
“That’s not good enough, Mr. Shanahan,” McCain said. “I’m glad to hear you changed your opinion from what was submitted, but it’s still disturbing to me. It’s still disturbing to me after all these years that you would say that you would have to look at the issue. Have you not been aware of the issue? Have you not been aware of the actions of the Senate Armed Services Committee? Have you not been aware of the thousands of people that have been killed by (Russian President) Vladimir Putin?”
The exchange highlights the difficulties that Shanahan faces now that President Donald Trump abruptly named him Sunday as acting defense secretary, beginning Jan. 1.
The president’s decision, after days of negative news coverage about Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ resignation over disagreements with Trump, puts a new senior official in charge of the Pentagon two months earlier than expected. It also thrusts Shanahan into the spotlight amid the president’s plans to withdraw thousands of troops from Syria and Afghanistan, and as the Pentagon is preparing to defend a $750 billion budget request to Congress.
Shanahan, 56, will take the helm after a 30-year career at the Boeing Co., where he became a senior vice president. Like Mattis, he is a Washington state native who has touted the national defense strategy the Pentagon adopted last year, which focuses heavily on preparing the military for a fight against a “near-peer competitor” like China or Russia. Unlike Mattis, he has no military experience, no previous government experience and little experience with foreign policy.
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