President Trump on Thursday nominated a new number two for the Pentagon, along with multiple Pentagon senior officials and the department’s head of program evaluation. Patrick M. Shanahan, Boeing’s senior vice president of supply chain and operations, is nominated to be the next deputy secretary of defense. Shanahan, if confirmed, would replace current No. 2 Robert Work. Trump also nominated Robert Daigle, a professional staff member on the House Armed Services Committee and previous director of program resources for Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, to lead CAPE. David Norquist, a partner with Kearney and Company, is nominated to serve as under secretary of defense, comptroller, and Elaine McCusker, the director of resources and analysis for US Central Command, is nominated to serve as principal under secretary of defense, comptroller. Kenneth Rapuano, a senior vice president with the ANSER Corporation, was nominated to serve as assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and global security. David Joel Trachtenberg, the president and CEO of Shortwaver Consulting, is nominated to serve as principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy. Defense Secretary James Mattis personally recommended the nominees to the president, according to a Pentagon statement.
Former AFCENT Commander Reflects on Lessons of Epic Fury
Sept. 13, 2026
Operation Epic Fury marked the U.S. military's largest air campaign in a generation, with strikes on 13,000 targets in Iran before the first in a series of shaky ceasefires began in April. Now, even as hostilities continue to flare up, Lt. Gen. Derek C. France sees several clear lessons that…
