Defense secretary pulls deputy’s nomination: report

Defense Secretary James Mattis has withdrawn his pick for undersecretary for policy, Anne Patterson, after the White House implied it would not fight a likely battle for Senate confirmation, The Washington Post reported.

Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.) and Ted Cruz (Texas), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, opposed the retired senior diplomat’s nomination because Patterson served as U.S. ambassador to Egypt from 2011 to 2013, the Post reported, citing U.S. officials.

During that period, the Obama administration supported an elected government with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood that was overthrown by the Egyptian military.

Patterson will not be among several approved Pentagon nominees announced by the White House this week, according to officials.

{mosads}Mattis reportedly accepted the withdrawal recently as he successfully pushed for the White House to remove Iraq from the list of majority-Muslim countries whose citizens are barred from U.S. entry under President Trump’s revised executive order on immigration.

The Defense Department (DOD) declined to comment to the Post, while a White House spokesman said they do not comment on personnel matters.

A spokeswoman for Cotton told the Post his opposition to Patterson was more about “her lack of DOD-specific experience.”

Mattis, who still has no senior officials appointed by Trump, must return to the drawing board for a new undersecretary for policy pick.

Former Republican Rep. Heather Wilson (N.M.) has been named but not confirmed as Air Force secretary, while Army Secretary nominee Vincent Viola and Navy Secretary nominee Philip Bilden both dropped out from consideration last month.

Mattis’s first choice for deputy secretary, Michèle Flournoy, also withdrew from consideration in December.