Tim Kaine statement on Ashton Carter appointment to Defense post

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on President Obama’s nomination of former Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter to serve as the nation’s next Secretary of Defense.

“Ash Carter is a dedicated public servant with a unique degree of Pentagon experience that spans three decades and includes time in the number two post under Secretaries Panetta and Hagel, and service as both Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics and Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy. In each of these roles, he has successfully navigated complex global contingencies while demonstrating a strong commitment to servicemembers and their families. With no shortage of challenges facing the Department of Defense and our Armed Forces – from responding to the ISIL threat and managing a changing security environment in europe and the Pacific, to a severely constrained fiscal environment – I believe Ash Carter is the right person for the job and urge my Senate colleagues to swiftly confirm him to this critical post.”