Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) endorsed Acting Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist Tuesday to become the next permanent deputy defense secretary, according to CQ.
“I’m very strongly in support of Norquist,” Inhofe told the outlet. “I’ve had a chance to talk to the president about Norquist,” he said.
Norquist became acting deputy defense secretary in late 2018 after Defense Secretary James Mattis retired, which advanced then-deputy secretary Shanahan into taking over top DOD role.
Inhofe described Norquist as “one of the most knowledgeable people around.”
Norquist, DOD’s comptroller, guided the agency through its first thorough audit which was completed in November. More than 1,000 auditors examined DOD’s more than $2 trillion in assets and though the audit technically failed, it was hailed as a major victory on the Hill by lawmakers who first required an audit decades ago.
Norquist will testify before the House Armed Services Committee Thursday on DOD’s reforms of its financial practices and its efforts to pass an audit.
DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber Smith
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