President Barack Obama has nominated former deputy Pentagon chief Ashton Carter to become the next secretary of defense. Obama announced the choice Friday at the White House.
Carter, a physicist and high-tech weapons expert, served as deputy defense secretary from 2011 to 2013. Prior to that, he was the Pentagon's top weapons buyer for two years.
Calling him by his nickname "Ash," Obama said Carter brings "a unique blend of strategic perspective and technical know how."
He is said to hold bipartisan support in Washington, and if confirmed by the Senate, will replace Chuck Hagel, who resigned under pressure last month after just two years on the job.
Appearing alongside President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden Friday, Carter said if confirmed, he pledges to give Obama his most "candid" strategic and military advice. He also addressed the nation's military personnel, saying he promises to serve the nation with "the same unflinching dedication" they demonstrate every day.
President Obama announces that Ashton Carter (left) is his nominee for U.S. Defense Secretary as Vice President Biden looks on. Hagel did not appear at the White House for the announcement, with a U.S. defense official saying he did not want to distract from the focus on Carter.
But the official said Hagel looks forward to working to ensure a speedy confirmation process for Carter and a successful transition at the Pentagon.?
White House officials have publicly denied forcing Hagel to resign, but other officials have said off the record that was the case.
Hagel was the only Republican in Obama's Cabinet. He is the first Cabinet member to leave office since the Republicans won the Senate in November, giving the party control of both houses of Congress in January.
Carter was seen as the frontrunner for the Pentagon chief position after several others removed themselves from consideration, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, Senator Jack Reed and ex-Pentagon official Michele Flournoy.
Unlike Hagel and every other Pentagon leader in the past three decades, Carter has never served in the military or Congress. The last defense secretary without experience in uniform or politics was Harold Brown, who led the Pentagon from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Carter is "somebody that certainly deserves and has demonstrated strong bipartisan support for his previous service in government."
As Hagel's deputy, he oversaw a $600 billion budget and 2.4 million civilian and military personnel.
Earlier, from 2009 to 2011, Carter served as undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics. In the 1990s, he served under President Bill Clinton as assistant defense secretary for international security policy.
Carter earned bachelor's degrees in physics and medieval history from Yale University and received his doctorate in theoretical physics from Oxford University.
Some information for this report comes from AP, AFP and Reuters.
