Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said “of course” he wants his job full-time, according to a report from Defense One, which said it talked to him after his House committee testimony Tuesday.
“I’ve spent nearly two years on the National Defense Strategy,” Shanahan reportedly told Defense One. “I know the defense strategy. I know what it takes to see it through, and I think I can make a big impact in that area.”
President Trump has said privately he wants to nominate Shanahan to be secretary, but that has been slowed down since the DOD inspector general launched an investigation into whether Shanahan has given special treatment to his former employee, Boeing.
If the IG investigation “is going to be really short, then it shouldn’t have that much effect on” the search for a permanent secretary, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) told Defense One. Inhofe has had a shaky relationship with Shanahan.
Shanahan has been acting secretary all year, making this the longest period in U.S. history without a permanent, Senate-confirmed defense secretary.
 
DOD photo by Lisa Ferdinando