As the war drums with Iran are beating, let’s not forget that the current Secretary of Defense is a lobbyist for Raytheon (weapons manufacturer)

by kimcheefarts

This is who is driving us into a war: www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/16/esper-refuses-recuse-himself-raytheon-matters-secdef-confirmation-hearing.html

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Army Secretary Mark Esper appeared headed to easy confirmation as defense secretary until late in his Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday morning, when he was confronted by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts.

In heated exchanges, Warren demanded to know whether Esper would recuse himself on Defense Department decisions involving Raytheon, decline to seek waivers that would allow him to weigh in on Raytheon matters and agree to refrain from lobbying for four years after he leaves office.

On all three issues, Esper said, “No, I won’t.”

“This is outrageous,” Warren said. “That means you should not be confirmed as secretary of defense.”

Esper worked for seven years as Raytheon’s top lobbyist before assuming his current role as Army secretary. When he took the post in 2017, he agreed to recuse himself for two years on Raytheon matters; that agreement expires in November.

Warren cited the example of former Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, a former top executive at Boeing, who recused himself from any matters involving the company for the duration of his service at the Defense Department.

“I can’t explain why he made that commitment,” Esper said of Shanahan.

Warren said, “I’ll take that as a ‘Yes,’ you’re not willing to make that commitment.”

In a letter to Esper she released Monday, Warren wrote, “I am troubled by your unwillingness to fully address your real and perceived conflicts of interest, and write to ask that you reconsider your refusal to extend your Raytheon recusal [as Army secretary] through the duration of your tenure at DoD.”

 

He is one of the country’s most powerful lobbyists and now he’s marching for a major war with Iran

 

 

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