Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan is expected to face tough questions Tuesday at a House Armed Services Committee hearing about DOD’s budget request. It’s his first testimony since the Pentagon released a list of military construction projects that could be delayed to build a U.S.-Mexico border wall, as directed by President Trump’s national emergency declaration.
The Democrat-led panel will also likely ask Shanahan about how the department is addressing privatized housing concerns, the structure of the proposed Space Force and the inspector general’s investigation into whether he has given preferential treatment to his former employer, Boeing.
Shanahan previously told a Senate committee he welcomed the investigation, which is also delaying his possible nomination as permanent defense secretary.
“The IG investigation has slowed the process down,” a senior White House official told Politico, “and there are quite a few of us who want to see the report before moving forward, including President Trump.”
 
DOD photo by Lisa Ferdinando