A new crew at the Pentagon. Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist is, at least for a time, America’s new Acting Secretary of Defense. In this role, “Norquist will maintain continuity and readiness of the Department until a defense secretary is confirmed,” White House officials announced just after noon Wednesday. (Norquist has been Deputy SecDef since July 2019.)
The U.S. military’s new acting service secretaries include:
John Whitley at the Army;
Tom Harker for the Navy;
And John Roth is the Air Force’s acting secretary.
More than two dozen incoming defense officials were sworn in at the Pentagon Wednesday, the Defense Department announced in the evening. That includes returning Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby, as well as Susanna Blume, Melissa Dalton, Kelly Magsamen, Ely Ratner and more.
Published: Thursday, January 21, 2021
Energy Department headquarters. Photo credit: Francis Chung/E&E News
Department of Energy headquarters in Washington. Francis Chung/E&E News
The Department of Energy unveiled a senior leadership team this morning, saying it will carry out President Biden s vision for bold action on the climate crisis.
The team includes two new jobs: a deputy director for energy justice and a director of energy jobs a nod both to Biden s pledge to address environmental justice and to his effort to center his climate plan on green energy jobs.
Tarak Shah. Photo credit: Department of Energy
Tarak Shah.
Governors Wind Energy Coalition
Acting heads for DOE, Interior, EPA named Source: By Timothy Cama, E&E News reporter • Posted: Thursday, January 21, 2021
David Huizenga will serve as President Biden’s acting Energy secretary, the new administration announced yesterday. Partnership for Public Service
President Biden yesterday named a slate of officials to be acting heads of federal agencies while his nominees await Senate confirmation.
The officials are mostly senior career employees. They are meant to keep agencies running and carrying out their missions, and are unlikely to implement major policy changes before Cabinet officials take charge.
In at least some cases, Biden is picking different acting officials than the ones President Trump’s administration had lined up.