Secretary of Defense

U.S. Defense Secretary Llyod Austin argued that a Russian victory in Bakhmut would not mean that they "have changed the tide of this fight."

During the final years of the Obama administration, Carter opened all military combat roles to women and lifted the ban on transgender soldiers serving openly.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that a conflict with NATO is a fight that Vladimir Putin "really doesn't want to have and that would very quickly escalate."

"The lesson that came out of World War II [was] that if you don't stop a tyrant now, that ultimately you will have to face him later," Leon Panetta said.

The U.S. Defense Secretary said that Russia has assembled "the kinds of things that you would need to conduct a successful invasion."

The Defense Secretary now has sole authority to approve National Guard deployments for requests of troops within 48 hours, and for law enforcement purposes.

Amid an Associated Press report showing 2,000 stolen or lost weapons in the past 10 years, the Pentagon will have to report missing weapons to lawmakers.

The U.S. defense secretary said he was concerned about China's testing of the weapons.

The press secretary defended the president's comments last month in regards to getting recommendations about leaving troops in Afghanistan after the withdrawal.

"The whole community is kind of watching to see...whether or not al-Qaeda has the ability to regenerate in Afghanistan," Lloyd Austin said.

The Pentagon said Wednesday that U.S. military forces in Afghanistan are working hard to make the August 31 evacuation deadline.

"He has failed up more than anyone I can imagine," the Florida Republican said of the defense secretary.

The former defense chief served under presidents Bush and Ford. He died with multiple myeloma, a type of cancer.

Trump's former defense secretary sharply criticized his former boss' handling of the pandemic, comparing his leadership unfavorably to how other presidents handled crises and called the Capitol riots on January 6 "the most disheartening day of my life."

"We must ensure that we retain our competitive and technological edge," Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said.

All Pentagon advisory board members were removed as Biden Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin cleans house of all previous administration appointees.

"Now more than ever, we need an experienced, competent, organized, and respected Secretary of Defense," the officials said.

President-elect Joe Biden has made an inspired choice in selecting retired general Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense in his administration.

Cienfuegos is the highest-ranking former Cabinet official to be arrested since top Mexican security official Genaro Garcia Luna was arrested in Texas in 2019.

The tweet features a 2015 image of Biden comforting the wife of then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.

"I think that these tasks ought to be relegated as much as possible to the state and local authorities, the law enforcement and police," Senator John Thune said.

Mark Esper's comments came after Trump said that he believed four U.S. embassies would have been attacked if Soleimani was not killed.

Mark Esper said in October that the Department of Defense "do everything we can" to comply with the impeachment inquiry.

The singer made the remark after Navy Secretary Richard Spencer said he does not share the same view of "good order and discipline" with the president.

The tweet was shared thousands of times before being deleted and appeared to contradict plans to shift troops from Syria into western Iraq—not back to the U.S.

Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff joined several GOP lawmakers in condemning President Trump's U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria, warning that ISIS is already beginning its resurgence.

Mark Esper confirmed 1,000 U.S. troops are set to evacuated from northern Syria Sunday under President Trump's "deliberate withdrawal," and administration officials are continuing to threaten Turkey's economy.

The retired general also said a May tweet from Trump about North Korea and Joe Biden was "counterproductive and beneath the dignity of the presidency."

Along with the announcement of Esper's nomination, the White House said it will appoint Pentagon comptroller David Norquist to become deputy Defense secretary. Army Undersecretary Ryan McCarthy will replace Esper as Army Secretary.

"As with Patrick Shanahan, Mark Esper's appointment as acting Secretary of Defense brings up questions regarding potential conflicts of interest," Rachel Rizzo, of New American Security, told Newsweek.