The Senate overwhelmingly approved Ash Carter as the new defense secretary on Thursday, giving the longtime Pentagon bureaucrat the reins to a military that is facing budget battles at home and unconventional fights abroad.
Carter is the fourth defense secretary to serve under President Obama and takes over the role from Chuck Hagel, who announced his departure in November. The Senate voted 93-5 to confirm him.
He’s a Rhodes scholar with degrees in theoretical physics and medieval history, well respected by lawmakers for his thoughtful work as a senior official in the Pentagon.
But while he has enjoyed a warmer welcome to the job than his predecessor — Hagel’s nomination process was fraught with confrontations with senators and a largely partisan confirmation vote — that honeymoon won’t last long.
Carter will immediately be thrust into the budding debate over Obama’s request for a new authorization for military force in the fight against Islamic State forces in the Middle East, and the decision whether to provide more arms to Ukrainian forces in their fight against Russia.
On the latter topic, he has already told senators he would be inclined to increase U.S. help to Ukraine, in opposition to administration moves so far.
Carter also will start his work as lawmakers begin digging into the annual defense budget. During his confirmation hearing, he lamented looming sequestration cuts that military leaders say will cripple force readiness, and pledged to push Congress to fix the issue before this fall.
But no clear legislative solution has emerged so far, leaving the Defense Department with months of uncertainty as the new fiscal year looms.
The only criticism Carter faced in his confirmation process had more to do with his new boss than his own résumé.
Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said he did not vote for Carter because of Obama’s micromanagement of national security issues. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, offered similar complaints, but praised Carter’s credentials and character and endorsed his selection.
Carter had spent much of the past month meeting with senators in advance of the confirmation vote, and is expected to return to Capitol Hill within weeks for budget and national security hearings.
