{"id":61983,"date":"2019-01-04T14:43:42","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T14:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/01\/04\/the-top-three-pentagon-officials-are-acting-in-their-jobs-does-that-matter\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:36:03","slug":"the-top-three-pentagon-officials-are-acting-in-their-jobs-does-that-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2019\/01\/04\/the-top-three-pentagon-officials-are-acting-in-their-jobs-does-that-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"The top three Pentagon officials are \u2018acting\u2019 in their jobs. Does that matter?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 When President Donald Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/12\/23\/trump-fires-mattis-early-shanahan-to-take-over-jan-1\/\" target=_blank>announced <\/a>Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan would become the acting secretary of defense, it created vibrations down the Pentagon chain of operations \u2014 suddenly leaving the top three spots at the department filled by acting individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But functionally, does it matter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pentagon Comptroller David Norquist has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2019\/01\/02\/pentagon-comptroller-to-serve-as-acting-deputy-secretary\/\" target=\"_blank\">been tapped to perform the duties<\/a> of the deputy secretary, leaving deputy comptroller Elaine McCusker to fill Norquist\u2019s day-to-day job. Meanwhile, the No. 3 in the department is supposed to be the chief management officer, but that job has been empty following the Nov. 9 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/11\/09\/pentagon-chief-management-officer-officially-resigns-after-weeks-of-speculation\/\" target=\"_blank\">resignation of Jay Gibson<\/a> from that role; Lisa Hershman is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/pentagon\/2018\/12\/11\/pentagon-claims-nearly-44-billion-in-savings-last-year-can-it-top-it-for-fy19\/\" target=\"_blank\">currently the acting CMO<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Joe Buccino told reporters Friday that &#8220;Acting Secretary Shanahan will serve in this capacity at the pleasure of the President and consistent with governing law.\u201d which, combined with recent comments by Trump, may be an indication the president is in no rush to replace the acting secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The good news for the Department of Defense? Experts believe the department\u2019s internal mechanisms will keep the building chugging along, at least in the short term. The more complicated news? Those tabbed with the \u201cacting\u201d label sometimes struggle with getting their way in that same bureaucracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/12\/21\/with-mattis-out-is-shanahan-poised-to-rewire-the-pentagon\/\" 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=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-876762790.jpg_5099c5.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\">Shanahan poised to rewire the Pentagon with Mattis out<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan could suddenly find himself in the spotlight, following Defense Secretary Jim Mattis&#039; announced departure.<\/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\">In terms of authorities, Shanahan should have no issue stepping into the secretary role, thanks to work that was done in the late 1980s through the Goldwater-Nichols reforms, says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/video\/2016\/10\/31\/arnold-punaros-on-war-and-politics-the-battle-inside-washingtons-beltway\/\" target=_blank>Arnold Punaro<\/a>, a retired Marine Corps general who served as staff director in the Senate during the Goldwater-Nichols debates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Goldwater-Nichols prepared for a \u201cdisability or vacancy in the SecDef position and put in statute the succession of the Deputy and the statute is clear that individual exercises the full powers of the SecDef,\u201d Punaro wrote in an email. \u201cSo everything in DoD is now subject to the \u2018authority, direction and control\u2019 of Pat Shanahan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo one \u2014 adversary, ally, congress, American public, other members of the administration \u2014 should consider Pat Shanahan as a \u2018caretaker\u2019 or \u2018hampered\u2019 by the term \u2018acting.\u2019 He is, as we say in the Marine Corps, a \u2018full up round.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marc Cancian, a former Pentagon and Office of Management and Budget official now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agrees Shanahan legally has the full authorities. And more broadly, Cancian said, the other vacant or acting positions won\u2019t matter as much if Shanahan is able to effectively drive the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m one of those people not too impressed by arguments about vacancies, if there is strong leadership at the top,\u201d he said. But he points out that just because someone has power doesn\u2019t mean that individual knows how to effectively use it, nor that everyone will listen. \u201cThe bureaucracy is just going to do its thing. It chugs along,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cancian also wonders if Shanahan will be able to effectively convey the department\u2019s message to Congress, particularly to Democratics, who now run the House of Representatives and are skeptical of defense spending increases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And Loren DeJonge Schulman, a former Pentagon and National Security Council staffer now with the Center for a New American Security, says to watch carefully if Shanahan is effectively able to use the levels of power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn any instance where a DoD senior leadership role is held by someone with only temporary authority, you can be almost certain that they will lose every argument to anyone with bigger political, analytic or institutional guns,\u201d Schulman said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In particular, Schulman raises concerns about the civil-military divide, an issue that has been growing for years but one which experts worry has been exacerbated during the first two years of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith that being the case, it\u2019s worth keeping an eye on how the Joint Staff and the services react to this new leadership dynamic, particularly given the sense that civilian oversight is waning in many instances,\u201d she said. \u201cWith Shanahan\u2019s lack of military and policy experience, I hope he finds strong advisers in [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] to help him manage what is going to be a crazy spring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One area that will be impacted by the shifting responsibilities, Cancian said, is the push for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/interviews\/2018\/11\/12\/pentagons-no-2-explains-his-lack-of-satisfaction-with-the-f-35\/\" target=_blank>management reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think that is going to lose momentum\u201d with the CMO spot empty and Shanahan and Norquist taking on bigger roles, Cancian predicted. \u201cI don\u2019t think it had much momentum to begin with, but whatever little momentum it had will be gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Six months ago there was a lot of talk about management reform, but you don\u2019t hear about any big changes that are in the wind. If they were working on something truly big, you would hear the screams from the Pentagon, which tells me whatever is coming is not going to be that big.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Updated 1\/4\/19 at 10:45 AM EST with Buccino\u2019s comment.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are a number of holes to fill at the top of the DoD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":116726,"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":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"8":{"categories":["leadership","management","home","daily-brief","newsletters"],"primary_category":"leadership"}}},"categories":[160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3378],"class_list":["post-61983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"HS5QLHU7SZDYZGDLMUF46T5KXI","arc_canonical_url":"\/pentagon\/2019\/01\/04\/the-top-three-pentagon-officials-are-acting-in-their-jobs-does-that-matter\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The top three Pentagon officials are \u2018acting\u2019 in their jobs. 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