Secretary of defense expected to name a military officer as Pentagon Press Secretary
CNN
A US Air Force brigadier general is expected to be named as the new Pentagon press secretary by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, according to an administration official and a senior defense official familiar with the matter.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder is expected to remain in uniform at least in the near term and CNN has spoken to several defense officials who privately acknowledge it is a potentially sensitive matter to have a uniformed officer brief the news media on policy issues.
"This would not be the first time" there has been a uniformed spokesman, a senior defense official said. Adding, if political questions arise from reporters, the Pentagon will make sure those questions are answered.
Senate Democrats have confirmed some of President Joe Biden’s picks for the federal bench this week in the face of President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for a total GOP blockade of judicial nominations – in part because several Republicans involved with the Trump transition process have been missing votes.
Donald Trump is considering a right-wing media personality and people who have served on his US Secret Service detail to run the agency that has been plagued by its failure to preempt two alleged assassination attempts on Trump this summer, sources familiar with the president-elect’s thinking tell CNN.