Posted on 11/25/2014 2:25:01 PM PST by jazusamo
Michèle Flournoy, a former Pentagon official who was viewed as a front-runner to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, has taken herself out of contention for the Cabinet post.
Flournoy on Tuesday sent a letter to the board of directors for the Center for a New American Security saying she plans to remain in her position as the think tanks chief executive officer,Foreign Policy reported.
Flournoy had previously served as undersecretary of Defense for policy from 2009 to 2012, working under both Robert Gates and Leon Panetta. She was viewed as a possible replacement for Panetta when he announced his retirement in 2012.
She has long been seen as a prime candidate to become the first female Defense secretary in U.S. history.
Flournoy might have another shot at the top Defense job, as she has been widely rumored to be a top candidate to join Hillary Clintons national security team, should the former secretary of State make a bid for the White House in 2016.
Her decision to pass up the important national security post leaves Obama with a thinning bench of possible candidates: Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who through a spokesman has said he is not interested in the job; Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the top Democrat on House Armed Services; and Ashton Carter, a former deputy secretary of Defense.
In a strange bit of timing, Flournoy will testify before the House Armed Services Committee next week.
She will appear on Dec. 2 to discuss the Pentagons Quadrennial Defense Review, according to a hearing schedule the panel released on Tuesday. The nuts-to-bolts examination guides Pentagon spending over the long term, prioritizing any shifts of military assets or attention to growing capabilities, such as cyber and special operations.
She has been involved with the Army and DoD at the Pentagon since the late 1990s. A couple of sources I have speak fairly highly of her in her understanding of defense policy, looking at options, and when it was not popular backing the Army’s resistance to strength cuts. they will be glad that she has declined. She may have worked for Dem administrations, but she would not be the “Yes woman lackey” that bh0 wants in his cabinet secretaries.
So who’s the next quadriplegic-transsexual-Muslim-under 30 activist seeking to get the position?
Oh well, onto the next protected class America-hater.
Thanks, I wondered if she might have turned it down for that reason.
Ouch, that makes my eyes hurt and you’re right.
-PJ
I’ll bet I’m on the list. Right after Donald Rumsfeld.
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