By LEXINGTON | WASHINGTON, DC
PATRICK SHANAHAN has made little on mark on the Pentagon during his two years as deputy defence secretary and then acting secretary following James Mattis’s resignation in December. He has instituted no major reform. He has made no memorable statement on global affairs. People who have worked alongside the former Boeing executive sound ambivalent about him. A newcomer to foreign affairs and security policy, he is not known to have strong views, ideological or otherwise. He is said to be a competent manager, which might be considered a minimal requirement for leading America’s armed forces and the vast Pentagon bureaucracy. On May 9th the White House announced that Donald Trump intended to nominate Mr Shanahan to his job on a permanent basis.
This represents a big change in what Mr Trump requires from his defence secretary. He picked Mr Mattis, a highly-respected former marine general, at a time when he was new to foreign affairs, unsure of the demands of the presidency and bedazzled by a man in uniform. He referred approvingly to him by his service nickname, “Mad Dog Mattis,” though the moniker was rarely used and Mr Mattis hated it. Mr Trump’s enthusiasm for Mr Mattis dwindled once it became clear that he was neither the bull-headed killer Mr Trump had taken him for, nor prepared to be the president’s own loyal general.
