{"id":37359,"date":"2017-02-10T18:35:37","date_gmt":"2017-02-10T18:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2017\/02\/10\/another-army-secretary-candidate-drops-out\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:54:12","slug":"another-army-secretary-candidate-drops-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2017\/02\/10\/another-army-secretary-candidate-drops-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Another Army secretary candidate drops out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0President Trump’s short list for the next Army secretary just got shorter. Van Hipp, a former Army assistant secretary and one of the candidates under consideration for the top service post, withdrew his name from consideration on Thursday night. In a statement to Politico<\/a>, Hipp said he supports Trump’s vision for the military but “unfortunately the timing would not be right for my family and me due to personal and professional commitments.”Hipp praised Trump for his military moves so far and promised to “assist the cause of making America great again in any way I can” from the private sector. The move came less than a week after Trump’s first pick for the Army secretary post — billionaire philanthropist Vincent Viola — abruptly withdrew from the confirmation process because of complications with his business interests. Viola is the owner of the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers and founder of digital stock trading firm Virtu Financial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Hipp, the chairman of the defense lobbying firm American Defense International and an Army veteran from the first Gulf War, has ties to Republican Party leadership and has been working with Trump\u2019s transition and White House teams for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources close to the search for Viola\u2019s replacement say no announcement is imminent. Trump\u2019s picks for the secretaries of the Navy and the Air Force have yet to be confirmed by the Senate, and do not have confirmation hearings scheduled yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Currently, Robert Speer is serving as acting Army secretary, a step up from his previous post as assistant secretary for financial management at the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army has only had a full-time secretary for a few months over the last two years. Army Secretary Eric Fanning was nominated to replace John McHugh in late 2015, but did not officially take over the job until May 2016 because of a lengthy confirmation fight with Congress. Fanning stepped down from the job in January, at Trump\u2019s request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n