{"id":60328,"date":"2021-07-14T19:01:12","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T19:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/14\/bidens-nominee-for-top-dod-weapons-chief-withdraws\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:24:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:24:40","slug":"bidens-nominee-for-top-dod-weapons-chief-withdraws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/2021\/07\/14\/bidens-nominee-for-top-dod-weapons-chief-withdraws\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s nominee for Pentagon weapons chief withdraws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to be the Pentagon\u2019s top weapons buyer, Defense Innovation Unit director Mike Brown, withdrew from consideration on Tuesday, Defense News confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin obtained by Defense News, Brown said he was withdrawing because an inspector general investigation into hiring practices at DIU was expected to delay consideration of his nomination by up to a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201dWhile I am confident the Office of the Inspector General will ultimately find no wrongdoing on my part, I know there are other qualified candidates who can focus on the urgent business of making our acquisition process faster and more cost-effective,\u201d Brown said in the letter. \u201cI must put the interests of the Department above my own enthusiasm for serving as Under Secretary for Acquisitions and Sustainment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Austin respects Brown\u2019s decision and thanked him \u201cfor his willingness to be nominated for this challenging position.\u201d Austin \u201cremains grateful for Mr. Brown\u2019s continued service at the Defense Innovation Unit,\u201d Kirby said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">News of Brown\u2019s withdrawal was first reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/insidedefense.com\/daily-news\/brown-withdraws-nomination-pentagon-acquisition-chief\" target=\"_blank\">Inside Defense<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Numerous defense innovation experts expressed dismay over Brown pulling out as nominee. Because of his past career in the tech sector and work at DIU, many had high hopes for Brown\u2019s ability to reform the department\u2019s arcane acquisition practices that doesn\u2019t suit small innovative, nontraditional contractors offering new technologies that primes don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/it-networks-battlefield-tech\/2021\/07\/12\/can-a-nominee-with-tech-industry-background-disrupt-pentagon-acquisition-shops-status-quo\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Mike-Brown-1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Can a nominee with tech industry background disrupt Pentagon acquisition shop\u2019s status quo?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">President Biden&#039;s pick for the Pentagon&#039;s next chief weapons buyer would face huge bureaucratic hurdles as he tries to prepare the military for digital warfare.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chris Brose, former Senate Armed Services Committee staff director, said Brown had a \u201cproven track record of rapid acquisition and fielding of advanced technologies\u201d and called his withdrawal a huge setback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou need someone who understands what that ecosystem looks like, that understands what the cutting edge of advanced technology is and who\u2019s developing it, what nontraditional defense companies and new entrants are going through in trying to begin and scale their work with the Department of Defense,\u201d said Brose, now chief strategy officer at defense tech firm Anduril Industries. \u201cHe, better than anybody, understands all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As undersecretary of defense for acquisitions and sustainment, Brown would have overseen a budget of more than $100 billion for major defense programs \u2014 such as the F-35 fighter jet, aircraft carrier elevator and efforts to speed up software acquisitions. He would have been highly influential over defense industry matters and been responsible for maintaining America\u2019s military edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown has led the Pentagon\u2019s Silicon Valley outreach arm since 2018 and worked to connect small startups developing innovative technologies with Department of Defense components. Brown\u2019s initial nomination was praised by observers, including several former senior DoD officials, because of his tech industry background and understanding of the challenges nontraditional contractors face working with the DoD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne of the exciting aspects of his nomination was the combination of a few different skill sets and knowledge bases that he would have brought to the role,\u201d said Lindsey Sheppard, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown\u2019s withdrawal is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2021\/07\/13\/a-dozen-of-bidens-national-security-nominees-are-on-hold-in-the-senate\/\" target=\"_blank\">another setback for the president\u2019s efforts to fill key roles at the Pentagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhenever you don\u2019t have confirmed leadership in senior positions at the Department of Defense, you\u2019re losing,\u201d Brose said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have people with the mandate and the legitimacy to take decisions and risky decisions to the fullest extent of the authorities of that office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brown joined government in 2016 as a White House presidential innovation fellow after a long career in the tech sector capped by two years as CEO of cybersecurity software giant Symantec. As a fellow, he wrote a detailed report on the threat the Chinese government posed to the U.S. venture capital system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under Brown\u2019s guidance, DIU has transitioned increasing amounts of projects to DoD components. In 2020, DIU transitioned 11 projects, up from four in 2018. One of DIU\u2019s most significant achievements under Brown\u2019s leadership was providing an alternative to Chinese-made small drones under a DIU project called Blue sUAS, which made trusted small drone options available to the whole federal government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bill Greenwalt, nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former deputy undersecretary of defense for industrial policy, called the news \u201csad and depressing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe had the potential, based on his background, to really bring in and leverage this massively innovative sector of the U.S. and international economy and then fold that into how we can create better capability against China,\u201d Greenwalt said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arnold Punaro, a former staff director with the Senate Armed Services Committee and the National Defense Industrial Association board chairman, said he is disappointed to see Brown out of the running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe DOD acquisition system needs strong leadership to implement innovation, speed, and cost-effectiveness, and Mike was the perfect choice for the position,\u201d Punaro said in a statement. \u201cMike\u2019s strong leadership will continue to benefit DIU and the Department moving forward, and we are lucky to have him there.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to be the Pentagon\u2019s top weapons buyer, Mike Brown, withdrew from consideration on July 14, Defense News has confirmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"9":{"categories":["it-networks","battlefield-tech","home","daily-brief","newsletters"],"primary_category":"it-networks"}}},"categories":[37,160,11,36,19,48],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446,3340],"class_list":["post-60328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-the-americas"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"3XLN4OWFMFEILNR2DL2ZWEE2CY","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2021\/07\/14\/bidens-nominee-for-top-dod-weapons-chief-withdraws\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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