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.