Trump’s nominee for Army secretary withdraws his name
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was disappointed Vincent Viola withdrew his name from consideration.
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump’s nominee for Army secretary, businessman Vincent Viola, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the post.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was disappointed but understood and respected Viola’s decision, a Pentagon statement said. Mattis will recommend to Trump another candidate soon, the statement said.
A Trump administration official confirmed tonight that Viola had withdrawn. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
The Military Times reported that Viola said in a statement he was “deeply honored” to be nominated but cited his inability to successfully navigate the confirmation process and Defense Department rules concerning family businesses.
Viola was the founder of several businesses, including the electronic trading firm Virtu Financial. He also owns the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers and is a past chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
A 1977 West Point graduate, Viola trained as an Airborne Ranger infantry officer and served in the 101st Airborne Division. In 2003, he founded and helped fund the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.
8 responses to “Trump’s nominee for Army secretary withdraws his name”
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The problem with Viola was that Trump appointed him without prior consultation with Mattis, who learned about Viola’s appointment from the press. This is typical of the chaotic nature of Trump’s management style and the disorganization of his transition. His administration is struggling because, as of Friday, it has filled only 39 of 660 key appointed positions.
How do you know there was no prior consultation?
You think PRESIDENT TRUMP and his SecDef don’t talk to each other?
And as of this time in 2009 how many positions were still vacant, eh?
Washington Post reported on January 6:
“The honeymoon seems to be ending between retired Gen. James N. Mattis and Donald Trump’s transition team amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute over who will get top jobs in the Defense Department — and who gets to make those decisions.
“With only two weeks left before Inauguration Day and days before Mattis’s Senate confirmation hearing, most major Pentagon civilian positions remain unfilled. Behind the scenes, Mattis has been rejecting large numbers of candidates offered by the transition team for several top posts, two sources close to the transition said. The dispute over personnel appointments is contributing to a tenser relationship between Mattis and the transition officials, which could set the stage for turf wars between the Pentagon and the White House in the coming Trump administration.
“Initially, both Mattis and the Trump team intended to engage in a collaborative process whereby Mattis would be given significant influence and participation in selecting top Pentagon appointees.
“But the arrangement started going south only two weeks later when Mattis had to learn from the news media that Trump had selected Vincent Viola, a billionaire Army veteran, to be secretary of the Army, one source close to the transition said.
‘Mattis was furious,’ said the source. ‘It made him suspicious of the transition team, and things devolved from there.’”
And just where did you get this information? Definitely sounds more like creative writing than in-depth news reporting.
Washington Post= Fish Wrap. Gotta do better than that. “said the source”
thos, I strongly recommend going back to school and finishing your education. You will be helping to MAGA!
Another billionaire? Such an elite group. The man didn’t want to join the circus. Smart man.
“I know more than the generals” Trump