Homeland Security Secretary and Pentagon insider Jeh Johnson has popped up on a fluid list of contenders to replace resigning Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, reports say.
According to
The Washington Post, Johnson’s name has surfaced in that past day or two, in the wake of
Hagel's resignation, describing his entry as "polarizing."
The Post notes Johnson was the Pentagon’s top lawyer from 2009 to 2012, giving him an inside track on Obama administration defense policy decisions, including the expansion of drone warfare, the future of the detainee center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the future of cyberwarfare.
He also served as the general counsel for the Air Force from 1998 until early 2001, in the Clinton administration.
And he's well-regarded in the Pentagon, with former defense secretary Robert Gates praising his legal skills and integrity in the book
"Duty." He also played a prominent role in determining how the Pentagon would repeal its "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy banning gay people from serving in the military openly.
But a move out of Homeland Security could leave a big hole just as President Barack Obama pushes executive action on immigration — and spell trouble for his confirmation as Pentagon chief.
All of Obama’s nominees are expected to have it rough in the Republican-controlled Senate next year, but a Department of Homeland Security nominee might be especially grueling given
Obama's immigration plan bypassing Congress,
Politico reports.
Politico reports others in the field of contenders include Bob Work and Ash Carter, the current and former deputy secretaries of defense, as well as Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, may be another possibility, Politico reports.
Still another, according to The Post, is Richard Danzig, the Navy secretary from November 1998 to January 2001, under President Bill Clinton, who was considered a contender to lead the Pentagon when Gates stepped down.
Two candidates who reportedly said they weren't interested in the job were Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, the incoming top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy.
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