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Does Anyone Want to Be Secretary of Defense?

White House struggles to fill the top Pentagon job.

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U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to visit with families of fallen soldiers as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, and acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, right, follow at Dover Air Force base in Delaware on Jan. 19.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to visit with families of fallen soldiers as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, and acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, right, follow at Dover Air Force base in Delaware on Jan. 19.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to visit with families of fallen soldiers as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, and acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, right, follow at Dover Air Force base in Delaware on Jan. 19. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

The search for a permanent replacement for former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis—a candidate who will satisfy both the president and the Senate—is not going well.

Lara Seligman is a staff writer at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @laraseligman

Tags: Department of Defense, Donald Trump, Military

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U.S. President Donald Trump, left, talks to journalists during a meeting with members of his cabinet, including acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, in the Cabinet Room at the White House on Jan. 02. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, talks to journalists during a meeting with members of his cabinet, including acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, in the Cabinet Room at the White House on Jan. 02. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Trump’s ‘Compliant’ New Pentagon Chief

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U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan participates in a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 18. (Department of Defense photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan participates in a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 18. (Department of Defense photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)

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