Esper Formally Nominated for Defense Secretary
The White House on July 15 formally nominated Army Secretary Mark Esper to be the Trump administration’s second Senate-confirmed defense secretary. The nomination, which was sent to the Senate around 3 p.m., came about 18 hours before Esper’s Senate confirmation hearing and sparks a series of personnel moves. Esper now steps down from his position of acting defense secretary and returns to being Army secretary, and Navy Secretary Richard Spencer is the acting Pentagon leader as senators consider Esper for the top civilian job.
