If confirmed, Christine Wormuth would be the first woman to hold the post.
In a historic nomination, President Joe Biden nominated Christine Wormuth to serve as Secretary of Defense.
If the Senate confirms this, Wormuth – who once served as the Pentagon’s top official in the last years of the Obama administration – will be the first woman to serve in the position.
Former California Representative Gil Cisneros has also been nominated for two other top Pentagon posts to serve as Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and Susanna Blume to serve as Director of Costing and Program Evaluation (CAPE).
A veteran national security officer with previous experience at the Pentagon, Wormuth also served during the Obama administration as the director of defense policy at the National Security Council.
Wormuth recently worked as a director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the Rand Corporation and was an influential player on the Biden transition team in the Pentagon, where she headed the Biden-Harris Defense Agency Review Team.
“Christine is a true patriot with a dedicated career in the service of America and the security of our country,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement while traveling in Berlin.
“As a former Minister of Defense for Policy, Christine has advanced the department’s anti-ISIS campaign and rebalancing in Asia, and her deep expertise will be critical to today’s global threats, including the challenging challenge of China and the nation state. “Addressing threats from Russia, Iran and North Korea,” Austin said, “I have no doubt that, if confirmed, she will lead our soldiers and represent their families with honor and integrity. as Secretary of the Army. “
Biden’s government has lagged behind in appointing top officials to various national security agencies, most notably in the Pentagon, where civilian careers have worked in positions that normally require Senate confirmation.
Up to and including Wormuth’s nomination this week, none of the civilian heads of military service have been nominated by the White House.
The Pentagon’s three nominations Monday included nearly a dozen national security nominations, including Christy Abizaid as the next director of the National Center for Terrorism.
“Protecting our country from foreign and domestic enemies is a deeply experienced and capable team based on a commitment to the ideals of our country and a thorough understanding of the great challenges our army is facing today,” he said. Austin said. “The president’s nominations today will help us build the team.”
“Christine Wormuth, Gil Cisneros and Susanna Blume represent decades of joint expertise in national security, and we are in a position to tackle the crises we are currently facing and prepare for the threats of tomorrow, “he continued. “I call on the Senate to confirm them soon so that they can continue this critical work.”
Cisneros was a one-time Democratic congressman who represented the 39th Congressional District of California before losing his bid in 2020.
During his congressional tenure, the 50-year-old Cisneros served on the Home Affairs and Veterans Affairs Committee. After the death of Army Spc. Venessa Guillen, Cisneros participated in discussions on the status of Latinos in the military and helped with the enactment of the I Am Vanessa Guillén Act which would make sexual harassment a crime within the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
He became a philanthropist in 2010 after winning a $ 266 million Mega Millions jackpot shortly after being fired from a managerial position at Frito-Lay.
Prior to her appointment, Blume had already fulfilled the duties of the Director of CAPE. She has held various policy and budget positions at the Pentagon and was recently the senior fellow and director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).