Warren rips Defense secretary nominee over his Raytheon ties
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday slammed President Donald Trump’s pick to be Defense secretary, Mark Esper, for his ties to defense contractor Raytheon.
In a heated exchange at a Senate Armed Services confirmation hearing, Warren — a Democratic presidential contender — criticized Esper for not committing to extend for his entire tenure at the Pentagon his recusal from issues involving Raytheon, where he worked as a top lobbyist.
Warren cited former acting Secretary Pat Shanahan, a former vice president with Boeing, who extended his recusal permanently amid questions about his ties to the aerospace company. She also pressed Esper to commit to never seek a waiver from his recusal and not seek defense industry employment for four years after leaving government, which he declined to do.
“Let me get this straight. You’re still due to get at least a million-dollar payout from when you lobbied for Raytheon. You won’t commit to recuse yourself,” Warren said. “You insist on being free to seek a waiver that would let you make decisions affecting Raytheon’s bottom line and your remaining financial interest. And you won’t rule out taking a trip right back through the revolving door on your way out of government service.”
“You can’t make those commitments to this committee, that means you should not be confirmed as secretary of defense,” the Massachusetts Democrat said.
The pair sparred over his ties to Raytheon during his 2017 confirmation hearing to be Army secretary. Warren was one of just six senators to vote against his confirmation then.
Esper, who is now being promoted to Defense secretary, jabbed back at Tuesday’s hearing, arguing he hadn’t sought a waiver and had abided by all his ethics obligations. And he pointed to former President Barack Obama’s selection of Bill Lynn, also a top lobbyist for Raytheon, as deputy secretary.
“I went to war for this country. I served overseas for this country. I’ve stepped down from jobs that paid me well more than [government],” Esper said. “And each time, it was to serve the public good and to serve the young men and women of our armed services.”
“I think the presumption is, for some reason, anybody who comes from the business or the corporate world is corrupt,” he said.
Warren telegraphed her tough line of questioning ahead of the hearing last week when she criticized Esper in a letter for not committing to extend his recusal, which expires in November. Warren called on him to extend his recusal for his entire tenure at the Pentagon and expand its scope.
She said Tuesday the possibility of Esper seeking a waiver “smacks of corruption, plain and simple.”
After a lengthy, and testy, exchange that ran over her allotted time, Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) gaveled Warren down.
“This is outrageous,” Warren said of Esper’s testimony.
A West Point graduate, Esper took over as acting Defense secretary in June when Shanahan stepped down amid questions about his personal life.
Esper would be the first Senate-confirmed Pentagon chief since Jim Mattis resigned in December. Inhofe said he aims to secure Esper's confirmation before the long August congressional recess.
Several of the panel’s Republicans came to the defense of Esper, who has maintained strong ties with both parties on Capitol Hill as Army secretary.
Inhofe apologized to Esper for the exchange.
“It was unfair and you handled it beautifully,” Inhofe said.
“I’m very disappointed that Senator Warren would demonize you after your decades of service simply because you served in the private sector,” added Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). “I guess she just needed a moment for her presidential campaign.”
