Patrick Shanahan, acting U.S. Secretary of Defense, in Washington, D.C., U.S., on April 11, 2019.
Stefani Reynolds | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that he will not nominate acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to hold the position in a permanent capacity. Army Secretary Mark Esper will become acting defense secretary, Trump said.
“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….,” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.
“….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!” he wrote in a second tweet.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The announcement came amid reports that an FBI background check was delaying the nomination process. Earlier on Tuesday, Shanahan released a statement related to a 2010 violent domestic incident involving him and his ex-wife.
“I never laid a hand on my then-wife and cooperated fully in a thorough law enforcement investigation that resulted in her being charged with assault against me—charges which I had dropped in the interest of my family,” Shanahan said in a statement provided to USA Today.
Esper had widely been discussed as a possible replacement nominee should Trump decide to rescind his announcement that Shanahan would be the nominee. A spokesman for the Army could not immediately say who would be Esper’s replacement.
Shanahan ascended to the acting role in the wake of Mattis’ shocking resignation in December. In his resignation letter, Mattis said that disagreements with the president about America’s treatment of both allies and strategic competitors came from beliefs that “are strongly held and informed by over four decades of immersion in these issues.”
— CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
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