Navy’s acquisition boss to take over as Trump’s acting Navy secretary on Friday

By

161118-N-PO203-426 WASHINGTON (Nov. 18, 2016) The Hon. Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy (research, development and acquisition), offers remarks during a change-of-command ceremony where Rear Adm. David J. Hahn relieved Rear Adm. Mat W. Winter as the chief of naval research (CNR). Winter, a decorated aviator with advanced degrees in both computer science and national resource strategy, will be joining the F-35 Joint Program Office as deputy director, Joint Strike Fighter Program. Hahn, a decorated submarine commander and naval acquisition officer, will head the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and oversee the roughly $2 billion Department of the Navy budget for naval science and technology programs. (U.S. Navy photo by John F. Williams/Released)

Sean Stackley, who has been the Navy’s top weapons buyer since 2008, will lead the Department of the Navy on a temporary basis, bringing the Ray Mabus era to an end.

The Navy is likely to announce that Stackley is the new Navy secretary shortly after Trump is sworn in Friday, according to two defense officials who were not authorized to publicly discuss the decision. Stackley will remain as SECNAV until the Trump administration names a replacement, which can take a few months to work through the system — Mabus was not sworn in until about four months into the Obama administration.

The question of who will be Trump’s permanent Navy secretary is still very much up in the air, according to two sources with close knowledge of the transition team’s deliberations. Until recently it was widely assumed that Virginia Republican and former U.S. representative Randy Forbes would be the likely choice but reports surfaced last week that Philip Bilden, a former Army intelligence officer and financier was the front-runner.

The sources said that rumors of Forbes’ political demise have been greatly exaggerated and that he is still very much in the running for the job. Internal wrangling inside the transition team over the weekend, combined with strong bipartisan support for Forbes on Capitol Hill has revived his bid to be the 76th Secretary of the Navy.

Forbes was until this year the head of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces subcommittee, which works specifically on Navy and Marine Corps issues. He lost a primary battle to former Navy SEAL Scott Taylor, who later won a seat in Congress.

As head of the committee, Forbes became heavily involved in managing the Navy. He played a key role in preventing the Navy from decommissioning the bulk of its cruisers as a cost-saving measure. He also pushed hard for a larger fleet to meet the demands of the regional commanders, something that is in line with Trump’s vision for a 350-ship fleet.

The Navy recently released a force structure assessment that called for a 355-ship Navy.

About 

David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.