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Prospective Navy Secretary Vows to ‘Restore the Appropriate Culture’
Kenneth Braithwaite answered pointed questions from senators, but he and fellow nominees from DoD and the Air Force appear set for confirmation.
So much BS. Braithwaite is a solid Republican businessman and Trump loyalist:
For his activities pushing Trumps agenda at NATO HQ, he was rewarded with an Ambassadorship (Norway) in 2017. As with all the rest, he'll err on the side of not displeasing Commander Clorox.
Kenneth Braithwaite answered pointed questions from senators, but he and fellow nominees from DoD and the Air Force appear set for confirmation.
5/7/20
A friendly confirmation hearing saw the Senate Armed Services Committee prepare to advance three nominees to senior positions at the Defense Department, including President Donald Trump’s pick for a permanent Navy Secretary. "This is as strong a panel of nominees as we’ve had before us and I plan to support all of you,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said at the Thursday morning hearing. Up for consideration was Kenneth Braithwaite, currently U.S. ambassador to Norway, to be Navy Secretary; Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities James Anderson to be the deputy undersecretary for policy; and Air Force Gen. Charles Brown to be his service’s chief of staff. Braithwaite and Anderson would replace officials who left the post prematurely. “It saddens me to say: the Department of the Navy is in troubled waters due to many factors, primarily the failings of leadership,” Braithwaite said during his opening statement, citing “a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service.” “It is my number one priority, if I’m confirmed, to restore the appropriate culture in the United States Navy,” Braithwaite said later. “I won’t say it’s been broken; I think it’s been tarnished.”
Anderson is currently holding the top policy post at the Pentagon in an acting capacity, filling in for John Rood, who was pushed out as part of a broad purge of officials seen as insufficiently loyal by the Trump administration. He was pressed on the simmering U.S. conflict with Iran as well as the American presence in Afghanistan. Brown’s testimony drew less focus from lawmakers than his two counterparts seated in the sparse, socially-distanced hearing room. He called for a new roles-and-mission study that could “potentially assign the Air Base Defense role to the Air Force” and cited possible budget constraints related to COVID-19 as his greatest challenge as incoming chief. “I might have given you a different answer a few months ago, but as the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, I see an emerging challenge where our strategic aspirations and our resources available may be on divergent paths,” Brown said.
So much BS. Braithwaite is a solid Republican businessman and Trump loyalist:
“Donald Trump is not a politician, he speaks his mind, and sometimes without a filter. He’s definitely not a diplomat. I think we all know that. He’s a businessman ... One of the worst things you can do when you enter a room to negotiate is be predictable.”
For his activities pushing Trumps agenda at NATO HQ, he was rewarded with an Ambassadorship (Norway) in 2017. As with all the rest, he'll err on the side of not displeasing Commander Clorox.