Mark Esper

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Mark Esper
File:Dr. Mark T. Esper – Acting Secretary of Defense.jpg
27th United States Secretary of Defense
Assumed office
July 23, 2019
President Donald Trump
Deputy Richard V. Spencer (acting)
Preceded by James Mattis
In office
Acting: June 24, 2019 – July 15, 2019
President Donald Trump
Deputy David Norquist (acting)
Preceded by Patrick M. Shanahan (acting)
Succeeded by Richard V. Spencer (acting)
23rd United States Secretary of the Army
In office
November 20, 2017 – July 23, 2019*
President Donald Trump
Deputy Ryan McCarthy
Preceded by Ryan McCarthy (acting)
Succeeded by Ryan McCarthy (acting)
Personal details
Born Mark Thomas Esper
(1964-04-26) April 26, 1964 (age 59)
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Leah Lacy (1989–present)
Children 3
Education United States Military Academy (BS)
Harvard University (MPA)
George Washington University (PhD)
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 1986–2007
Rank US-O5 insignia.svg Lieutenant Colonel
Unit 101st Airborne Division CSIB.png 101st Airborne Division
17px Virginia Army National Guard
17px D.C. Army National Guard
 U.S. Army Reserve
Battles/wars Gulf War
Awards Legion of Merit
23x15px Bronze Star
Combat Infantryman Badge
DoD Medal for Distinguished Public Service
* McCarthy served in an acting capacity from June 24, 2019 – July 15, 2019 while Esper served as acting secretary of defense.

Mark Thomas Esper (born April 26, 1964)[1][2] is the 27th and current United States Secretary of Defense. He previously served as acting secretary of defense and was the 23rd United States Secretary of the Army from 2017 to 2019.

Prior to joining the Defense Department, Esper was an American corporate executive and military veteran. He was vice president of government relations at Raytheon, a major U.S. defense contractor.[3] During his time at Raytheon, Esper was recognized as a top corporate lobbyist by The Hill in 2015[4] and in 2016.[5]

President Donald Trump announced on June 18, 2019, that Esper would become acting secretary of defense, succeeding acting secretary Patrick Shanahan.[6] Before Shanahan withdrew his name from consideration for the position, Esper had been considered a leading candidate for the nomination, had the Senate declined to confirm Shanahan.[7] Esper assumed the office of acting secretary on June 24, and was confirmed as secretary of defense by the United States Senate with a vote of 90-8 on July 23, 2019.[8]

Education

Esper graduated from Laurel Highlands High School in 1982.[9] He received his Bachelor of Science in engineering from the United States Military Academy in 1986. Esper was a dean's list student at West Point and recipient of the Douglas MacArthur Award for Leadership.[10] He received a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard in 1995 and a Doctor of Philosophy in public policy from George Washington University in 2008.[11]

Career

Esper served as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division and deployed with the "Screaming Eagles" for the 1990–91 Gulf War. His battalion was part of the famous "left hook" that led to the defeat of the Iraqi Army. For his actions, Esper was awarded a Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, and various service medals.[10] He later led an Airborne Rifle Company in Europe and served as an army fellow at the Pentagon.[9] Esper was on active duty for over ten years before transitioning to the Army National Guard and later the Army Reserve, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.[12] Esper is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. Among his military awards and decorations are the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, the Kuwait Liberation Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal – Saudi Arabia, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.[13]

Esper was chief of staff at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, from 1996 to 1998.[14] From 1998 to 2002, Esper served as a senior professional staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. He was also a senior policy advisor and legislative director for U.S. senator Chuck Hagel.[3] He was policy director for the House Armed Services Committee from 2001 to 2002. From 2002 to 2004, Esper served in the George W. Bush administration as deputy assistant secretary of defense for negotiations policy, where he was responsible for a broad range of nonproliferation, arms control, and international security issues. He was director for national security affairs for the U.S. Senate under Senate majority leader Bill Frist from 2004 to 2006.

Esper was executive vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association in 2006 and 2007. From September 2007 to February 2008, Esper served as national policy director to Senator Fred Thompson in his 2008 presidential campaign. From 2008 to 2010, Esper served as executive vice president of the Global Intellectual Property Center and vice president for Europe and Eurasia at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was hired as vice president of government relations at defense contractor Raytheon in July 2010. Esper was recognized as a top corporate lobbyist by The Hill in 2015[15] and 2016.[16]

President Trump announced his intention to nominate Esper as United States Secretary of the Army on June 19, 2017.[17] He was Trump's third nominee for the position, following the withdrawals of Vincent Viola and Mark E. Green.[18] He was confirmed to this post by an 89–6 vote of the U.S. Senate on November 15, 2017[19] and sworn in on November 20, 2017.

United States Secretary of Defense

Temporary appointment and nomination

President Trump announced his appointment of Esper as acting United States secretary of defense on June 18, 2019, after Acting Secretary Patrick Shanahan decided to withdraw his nomination.[6] Four days later, it was announced that Trump would nominate Esper to serve as secretary of defense in a permanent capacity.[20] On July 15, 2019, the White House formally sent his nomination to the Senate.[21][22] Following his formal nomination to the Senate by President Trump, Esper was replaced as Acting Defense Secretary by Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer, as the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 prevented Esper from serving as acting secretary while his nomination was formally under consideration. During that period, Esper reverted back to his position as Secretary of the Army.[23]The Senate Committee on Armed Services scheduled a hearing on the nomination for the next day.[24] On July 22, 2019, the Senate voted 85–6 to invoke cloture on his nomination.[25] On July 23, 2019 his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 90–8.[26]

Political positions

One February 15, 2018, Esper, when asked by reporters whether soldiers had concerns about serving beside openly transgender individuals, he told the reporters that "It really hasn't come up."[27] After being picked for the position of United States Secretary of Defense, he stated that being "transgender" isn't an issue with him, stating that he has met with several transgender service personnel members and was very impressed with many of them. He supports Directive-type Memorandum-19-004, claiming it is not a "blanket ban" on transgender military service and stated that believe that anyone who can meet the military standards without "special accommodations" and is worldwide deployable should be able to serve, including transgender individuals as long as they can adhere to cisgendered standards associated with their biological sex. He stated that individuals in the military with gender dysphoria would have their condition looked and "in many cases", offer waivers on a case-by-case basis and you would be allowed to serve. He cited the United States Department of Defense's 2018 Report and Recommendations on Military Service by Transgender Persons, which claims that persons who have a history of gender dysphoria, who have undergone medical treatments for gender transition, or who are unable or unwilling to meet the military’s standards associated with their biological sex, could adversely impact military readiness and effectiveness and should be evaluated for the purposes of either accession or retention.[28][29]

References

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  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Soldiers not asking about transgender policy: Army secretary
  28. ↑ CNN'S AMANPOUR
  29. ↑ 1Senate Armed Services Committee Advance Policy Questions for Dr. Mark T.EsperNominee for Appointment to be Secretary of Defense

External links

Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of the Army
2017–2019		 Succeeded by
Ryan McCarthy
Acting
Preceded by United States Secretary of Defense
Acting
2019		 Succeeded by
Richard V. Spencer
Acting
Preceded by United States Secretary of Defense
2019–present		 Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by as Secretary of the Treasury Order of Precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Defense		 Succeeded by
William Barr
as Attorney General
United States presidential line of succession
Preceded by as Secretary of the Treasury 6th in line
as Secretary of Defense		 Succeeded by
William Barr
as Attorney General
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