SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
The White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump will nominate acting Defense Secretary and former Boeing executive as Pentagon chief. (Photo: United States Air Force)
Trump Nominates 'Embodiment of the Military-Industrial Complex' Patrick Shanahan to Lead Pentagon
Shanahan worked at Boeing, one of the world's largest defense contractors, for more than 30 years before joining the Trump administration
May 10, 2019
In a move critics warned could further deepen the ties between the sprawling and immensely profitable private weapons industry and the U.S. government, the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump will nominate former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan to head the Pentagon.
"Conflict of interest? Boeing is already the second-largest recipient of private contracts from the U.S. military."
--National Priorities Project
Shanahan has been serving as acting secretary of defense since the departure of former Pentagon chief Jim Mattis in January.
"When Patrick Shanahan was selected by Trump for a Pentagon post," The Nation's John Nichols tweeted Thursday in response to Shanahan's nomination, "the Seattle Times wrote: 'Shanahan, 54, has no military or political experience. He is, however, familiar with defense procurement from the business side.' Very, very familiar."
In a column last year, Nichols described Shanahan--who worked at Boeing for 31 years before becoming Trump's deputy defense secretary--as "the embodiment of the military-industrial complex."
"His main claim to fame in the deputy post was his ardent advocacy for Trump's 'space force' scheme," Nichols wrote. "So what experience does Shanahan have? He is, literally and figuratively, the embodiment of the military-industrial complex about which former President Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans at the close of his presidency in 1961."
\u201cTrump has nominated the military-industrial complex to serve as Secretary of Defense. https://t.co/VBx2XOMrsh\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1557441901
As NBCreported, Trump's decision to nominate Shanahan--who must be confirmed by the Senate--comes "just weeks after the Pentagon's internal watchdog cleared the longtime former Boeing executive of allegations he provided his old employer... with preferential treatment. Shanahan was accused of pushing Boeing fighter jets on the Air Force and Marines."
The National Priorities Project (NPP) highlighted Shanahan's potential conflicts of interest in a series of tweets following news of his nomination.
"Patrick Shanahan, former Boeing executive, is poised to keep running the Pentagon as Defense Secretary with President Trump's nomination," NPP wrote. "Conflict of interest? Boeing is already the second-largest recipient of private contracts from the U.S. military."
"Last year, the average taxpayer paid $102 for contracts with Boeing, " the group noted, "compared to just $40 for public housing and homeless assistance."
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In a move critics warned could further deepen the ties between the sprawling and immensely profitable private weapons industry and the U.S. government, the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump will nominate former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan to head the Pentagon.
"Conflict of interest? Boeing is already the second-largest recipient of private contracts from the U.S. military."
--National Priorities Project
Shanahan has been serving as acting secretary of defense since the departure of former Pentagon chief Jim Mattis in January.
"When Patrick Shanahan was selected by Trump for a Pentagon post," The Nation's John Nichols tweeted Thursday in response to Shanahan's nomination, "the Seattle Times wrote: 'Shanahan, 54, has no military or political experience. He is, however, familiar with defense procurement from the business side.' Very, very familiar."
In a column last year, Nichols described Shanahan--who worked at Boeing for 31 years before becoming Trump's deputy defense secretary--as "the embodiment of the military-industrial complex."
"His main claim to fame in the deputy post was his ardent advocacy for Trump's 'space force' scheme," Nichols wrote. "So what experience does Shanahan have? He is, literally and figuratively, the embodiment of the military-industrial complex about which former President Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans at the close of his presidency in 1961."
\u201cTrump has nominated the military-industrial complex to serve as Secretary of Defense. https://t.co/VBx2XOMrsh\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1557441901
As NBCreported, Trump's decision to nominate Shanahan--who must be confirmed by the Senate--comes "just weeks after the Pentagon's internal watchdog cleared the longtime former Boeing executive of allegations he provided his old employer... with preferential treatment. Shanahan was accused of pushing Boeing fighter jets on the Air Force and Marines."
The National Priorities Project (NPP) highlighted Shanahan's potential conflicts of interest in a series of tweets following news of his nomination.
"Patrick Shanahan, former Boeing executive, is poised to keep running the Pentagon as Defense Secretary with President Trump's nomination," NPP wrote. "Conflict of interest? Boeing is already the second-largest recipient of private contracts from the U.S. military."
"Last year, the average taxpayer paid $102 for contracts with Boeing, " the group noted, "compared to just $40 for public housing and homeless assistance."
In a move critics warned could further deepen the ties between the sprawling and immensely profitable private weapons industry and the U.S. government, the White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump will nominate former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan to head the Pentagon.
"Conflict of interest? Boeing is already the second-largest recipient of private contracts from the U.S. military."
--National Priorities Project
Shanahan has been serving as acting secretary of defense since the departure of former Pentagon chief Jim Mattis in January.
"When Patrick Shanahan was selected by Trump for a Pentagon post," The Nation's John Nichols tweeted Thursday in response to Shanahan's nomination, "the Seattle Times wrote: 'Shanahan, 54, has no military or political experience. He is, however, familiar with defense procurement from the business side.' Very, very familiar."
In a column last year, Nichols described Shanahan--who worked at Boeing for 31 years before becoming Trump's deputy defense secretary--as "the embodiment of the military-industrial complex."
"His main claim to fame in the deputy post was his ardent advocacy for Trump's 'space force' scheme," Nichols wrote. "So what experience does Shanahan have? He is, literally and figuratively, the embodiment of the military-industrial complex about which former President Dwight Eisenhower warned Americans at the close of his presidency in 1961."
\u201cTrump has nominated the military-industrial complex to serve as Secretary of Defense. https://t.co/VBx2XOMrsh\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1557441901
As NBCreported, Trump's decision to nominate Shanahan--who must be confirmed by the Senate--comes "just weeks after the Pentagon's internal watchdog cleared the longtime former Boeing executive of allegations he provided his old employer... with preferential treatment. Shanahan was accused of pushing Boeing fighter jets on the Air Force and Marines."
The National Priorities Project (NPP) highlighted Shanahan's potential conflicts of interest in a series of tweets following news of his nomination.
"Patrick Shanahan, former Boeing executive, is poised to keep running the Pentagon as Defense Secretary with President Trump's nomination," NPP wrote. "Conflict of interest? Boeing is already the second-largest recipient of private contracts from the U.S. military."
"Last year, the average taxpayer paid $102 for contracts with Boeing, " the group noted, "compared to just $40 for public housing and homeless assistance."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.