Acting Defense Secretary Takes Command, Hailing Trump and Mattis
- Mattis forced out early after letter criticizing the president
- Patrick Shanahan, an ex-Boeing executive, was Mattis’s deputy
Donald Trump and Patrick Shanahan at the White House in Washington, on May 9.
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan assumed command of U.S. armed forces on Tuesday by expressing loyalty to his boss, President Donald Trump, and praise for his former boss and predecessor, Jim Mattis.
“As acting secretary of defense, I now look forward to working with President Trump to carry out his vision alongside strong leaders including the service secretaries, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the combatant commanders, and senior personnel in the Office of the Secretary of Defense,” Shanahan said in a statement released on New Year’s Day.