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 It looks like former Pentagon official Ashton Carter is about to
find out.
Administration sources said on Tuesday that Obama has settled on the
60-year-old Carter as his fourth defense secretary, with an
announcement expected in coming days once he is thoroughly vetted.
Carter would replace former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel who, like
his predecessors Roberta Gates and Leon Panetta, complained about
White House micromanaging of the Pentagon and felt he had a lack of
influence over decision-making, according to sources familiar with
Hagel's tenure.
The next defense chief will join a national security team facing
crises on multiple fronts -- from the U.S.-led fight against Islamic
State in Iraq and Syria to Russia's aggression in Ukraine, global
efforts to contain Iran's influence and an increasingly assertive
China.
Carter, a theoretical physicist with no uniformed military
experience, has toiled away in high-ranking positions within the
Pentagon in recent years, largely outside the glare of the media.
His roles include deputy defense secretary -- the Pentagon's No. 2
job -- from 2011 to 2013 and a stint as an assistant secretary of
defense for 1990s Democratic President Bill Clinton.
He was also the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer from 2009-11 when he
led a major restructuring of the F-35 fighter jet program.
Given Obama's adamant convictions about limiting American military
involvement abroad after costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Carter
will be an important conduit between the White House and generals at
the Pentagon.
"The meetings may run better, the process may run better, but the
fundamental challenges to the policy remain the same no matter who
sits at the top of the Pentagon," said Aaron David Miller, a Middle
East expert at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
"NATURAL TENSION"
White House spokesman Josh Earnest, asked about criticism that the
White House micromanages the Pentagon, said there was "always some
natural tension" between the White House and the Defense Department.
"The president is, after all, the commander-in-chief. So he
obviously has significant say over what kinds of things are
happening over at the Department of Defense," Earnest said.
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The White House had no comment on Carter's selection. But
spokesman Earnest had glowing praise for a man little known outside
Washington, but who has a reputation inside the capital as a career
technocrat and sharp intellect who is unlikely to shake up U.S.
military strategy.
Carter performed "very, very ably" in his prior Pentagon
appointment, Earnest said at his daily briefing, noting that the
Senate had confirmed him unanimously. Previous Senate confirmation
is a valuable asset for a nominee seeking to clear partisan gridlock
on Capitol Hill.
Oklahoma Republican James Inhofe, the top Republican on the Senate
Armed Services Committee, said he thought Carter would gain Senate
confirmation easily.
"He's got the experience, the background. He's not politically
driven. I just think he'd be a good secretary," Inhofe told
reporters.
Hagel resigned under pressure last week after less than two years at
the helm of the Defense Department. Whoever replaces him will be
Obama's fourth defense secretary.
Hagel had privately expressed frustration with his inability to
influence major questions of U.S. security strategy, including the
fight against Islamic State. His relationship with Obama's inner
circle at the White House was strained.
(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Andrea Shalal;
Editing by Jason Szep and Andrew Hay)
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