Trump Pick of Billionaire Feinberg for Pentagon Bolsters Hegseth
- Proposed team is focused on business experience, technology
- Hegseth, a former Fox anchor, faces an uncertain Senate vote
Stephen Feinberg, center, at the US Capitol in Washington, on Dec. 11, 2008.
Photographer: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Donald Trump’s choice of billionaire financier Stephen Feinberg as the No. 2 official at the Pentagon is part of a move by the president-elect to back up Pete Hegseth, his choice for defense secretary, with deputies focused on bringing in business experience and new technology.
Feinberg is co-founder and majority owner of Cerberus Capital Management LP and has a net worth of about $7.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The private equity firm has major investments in defense technology companies. If confirmed by the Senate, Feinberg would hold a job historically focused on hands-on management of the Pentagon and related concerns, such as industrial production.