NOMINEE WOULD BE FIRST FEMALE ARMY SECRETARY
Wormuth is a former senior official for policy at Pentagon
President Joe Biden plans to nominate Christine Wormuth, a former senior Pentagon official in the Obama administration, to be the first woman to lead the Army, the White House said Monday.
If confirmed by the Senate as Army secretary, Wormuth would be one of the more powerful officials in a defense establishment long dominated by men.
Wormuth, who was on Biden’s Pentagon transition team after the election, would join other women appointed to top Pentagon jobs, including Kathleen Hicks, the deputy defense secretary, and Kelly Magsamen, chief of staff to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
She would take control of the largest branch of the military when the armed services are wrestling with a range of challenges, including weeding out right-wing extremists from their ranks and confronting rising threats from China and Russia.
Wormuth would work with the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. James McConville, who does not command soldiers but is responsible, along with the Army secretary, for training and equipping them.
The Biden administration has come under criticism for its slow pace of nominating officials to top Pentagon jobs, including high-ranking civilian positions overseeing the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. In many cases, the service branches and other important parts of the Defense Department have been run by acting officials in the administration’s first months.
Many other Pentagon positions that require Senate confirmation also have yet to be filled.
The most senior Defense Department nominee still awaiting Senate confirmation is Colin Kahl, picked to be under secretary of Defense for policy. His nomination emerged from committee on a 13-13 vote, and it’s unclear when the full Senate will act.
Austin, who was traveling abroad when Wormuth’s nomination was announced, praised her track record.
“Christine is a true patriot with a dedicated career in service to America and our nation’s security,” he said in a prepared statement. He called her deeply experienced.
“I have no doubt that if confirmed she will lead our soldiers and represent their families with honor and integrity as the secretary of the Army,” Austin said.
Wormuth began her government career in 1996 in the Pentagon policy office, which she eventually led from 2014 to 2016. Earlier in the Obama administration, she served as the main liaison from the White House’s National Security Council to the Pentagon on defense issues.
Wormuth has also worked in senior positions dealing with international security and defense policy at the RAND Corp. and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, two research institutions in Washington.
The White House also announced the nominations of Gil Cisneros to be undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, and Susanna Blume as director of cost assessment and program evaluation, a key office that provides independent analysis and evaluation of major defense programs and activities. She currently is the interim director of that office and has previously held senior staff positions in the Pentagon.
Cisneros is a former member of Congress and a Navy veteran.