If confirmed, Christine Wormuth would be the first woman to hold the job.
In a historic nomination, President Joe Biden has nominated Christine Wormuth as Secretary of the Army.
If confirmed by the Senate, Wormuth – who once served as the Pentagon’s top official in the closing years of the Obama administration – would be the first woman to serve in the position.
Also nominated for two other top Pentagon posts were former California Deputy Gil Cisneros as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Preparedness, and Susanna Blume as Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE).
Wormuth, a veteran of the National Security Officer with previous experience at the Pentagon, also served as the Director of Defense Policy for the National Security Council during the Obama administration.
Wormuth most recently served as director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the Rand Corporation and was an influential player on the Biden transition team at the Pentagon, where she led 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 issued while traveling through Berlin.
As a former Secretary of Defense for Policy, Christine has furthered the department’s campaign against ISIS and the rebalancing in Asia, and her deep expertise will be critical in addressing and determining today’s global threats, including the pacing challenge of China and nation-states threats emanating 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 the Secretary of the Army. “
The Biden administration has lagged behind in appointing top officials to several national security agencies, most notably at the Pentagon, where professional citizens have worked in positions normally required to be confirmed by the Senate.
Until Wormuth’s appointment this week, none of the civilian heads of military services had been nominated by the White House.
The Pentagon’s three nominations on Monday were included in nearly a dozen national security nominations, including Christy Abizaid as the next director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
“Defending our nation against foreign and domestic enemies requires a highly experienced and skilled team, based on a commitment to our nation’s ideals and a keen understanding of the profound challenges facing our armed forces today,” said Austin. “Today’s president nominations will help us build that team.”
“Christine Wormuth, Gil Cisneros and Susanna Blume represent decades of combined expertise in national security, and we are positioned to address the crises we currently face and prepare for the threats of tomorrow,” he continued. . “I urge the Senate to confirm them quickly so they can take up this critical work.”
Cisneros was a Democratic one-term congressman representing California’s 39th congressional district before losing his reelection in 2020.
During his time in Congress, 50-year-old Cisneros was a member of the House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs Committee. After the death of Army Spc. Venessa Guillen, Cisneros took part in discussions about the status of Latinos in the military and helped introduce the I Am Vanessa Guillén Act that would make sexual harassment a crime within the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
He became a philanthropist in 2010 after winning a Mega Millions jackpot of $ 266 million shortly after being fired as a manager at Frito-Lay.
Prior to her appointment, Blume already held the position of director of CAPE. She has held multiple policy and budget positions at the Pentagon and was most recently a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).