President Donald Trump has announced that Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will serve as secretary of the Department of Defense on an interim basis starting Jan. 1, Military Times reported Sunday.
Trump made the announcement in a tweet posted Sunday days after James Mattis disclosed his plan to resign from his post at DoD by the end of February.
Mattis decision to leave the Pentagon reportedly stemmed from the presidents policies on national security such as his decision to pull out U.S. troops from Syria and previous views on foreign allies, according to the report.
Shanahan was confirmed by the Senate for the deputy defense secretary role in July 2017. Prior to DoD, he served as senior vice president of supply chain and operations at Boeing (NYSE: BA).
He has pushed for changes to the Pentagons acquisition system and led efforts to eliminate duplicative programs, the report added.