Week ahead in defense: Senate shifts focus to Trump’s Pentagon nominees

The Senate will return Monday to tackle a number of pressing Pentagon nominations.

The Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday will hold a confirmation hearing for Gen. Joseph Dunford to serve a second term as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. That will happen at 10 a.m. in Hart Senate Office Building.

Lawmakers will also look to hold a hearing for President Trump’s Army secretary nominee, Raytheon lobbyist and retired Army colonel Mark Esper.

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Esper since 2010 has been with the world’s fourth largest defense company and has also worked as a lobbyist for the Aerospace Industries Association of America and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

One committee member, Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), met with Esper and touted his business experience as a key asset for the Army.

“Dr. Esper and I discussed the urgent need to focus on the Army’s readiness and the need to recap the major platforms in the Army to meet the ever-changing global threats,” Purdue said in a statement Friday.

“I look forward to hearing more on how he plans to address these and other challenges facing the Army today during his confirmation hearing before the Armed Services Committee.”

But lawmakers are likely to call into question Esper’s industry-filled resume during the confirmation hearing.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has already expressed frustration with Trump choosing numerous industry executives as nominees for Pentagon posts.

McCain said in July that he did not want the White House to nominate any more executives from the top five defense firms to run the Pentagon.

Trump then nominated Esper in late July as his third choice to be the top Army civilian. The previous two nominees withdrew their names from consideration.

Billionaire Vincent Viola took himself out of the running in February after saying it would be too difficult to untangle himself from his numerous business ties. 

And Tennessee state lawmaker Mark Green dropped out in May after facing criticism for controversial comments he has made on LGBT people, Islam, Hispanics, the Second Amendment and creationism.

The House and Senate will be busy on a number of other defense matters this week.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the State Department’s reorganization with testimony from Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2172. http://bit.ly/2wLps0y

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on security assistance at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 419. http://bit.ly/2fffm1z

House Foreign Affairs will have a joint subcommittee hearing on the administration’s budget request for Afghanistan and Pakistan at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2172. http://bit.ly/2wO2vOB

The Senate Homeland Security Committee will have a hearing on threats to the homeland with testimony from acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, FBI Director Christopher Wray and National Counterterrorism Center Director Nicholas Rasmussen at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Dirksen 342. http://bit.ly/2ho9Vy5

 A House Armed Services subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Army’s tactical networking modernization at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Rayburn 2212. http://bit.ly/2feKIWj

A Foreign Affairs subcommittee will have a hearing on Rwanda at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Rayburn 2200. http://bit.ly/2jQ0ZWE

Another Foreign Affairs subcommittee will have a hearing on the violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rayburn 2172. http://bit.ly/2yvyDo4

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on suicide prevention with testimony from VA Secretary David Shulkin at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Russell Senate Office Building, room 418. http://bit.ly/2hgZUCX

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