Skip to content

The Pentagon has a leadership vacuum at the top as tensions with Iran rise

CQ on Congress podcast, Episode 158

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who is stepping aside, will be replaced Monday by Mark Esper, current secretary of the Army. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who is stepping aside, will be replaced Monday by Mark Esper, current secretary of the Army. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo)

The departure of acting Defense Department Secretary Patrick Shanahan raises questions about who is advising President Donald Trump, who pulled back a planned military strike on Iran this week, says CQ defense reporter Andrew Clevenger in this episode of the CQ on Congress podcast. And Chris Lu, who served as Barack Obama‘s liaison to his Cabinet, says Trump’s apparent preference for churn among his agency heads gives him more power to direct policy on his own.

Show Notes:

Subscribe to this podcast below

Subscribe on iTunesListen on StitcherListen on RADiO PUBLiCListen on Spotify

 

Recent Stories

‘Israel is in charge’: Netanyahu made sure Trump’s Iran diplomacy was no picnic

Covert actions key to Israel’s strikes on Iran: Mossad

Striking up — Congressional Hits and Misses

Photos of the week | June 6-12, 2025

AI can sharpen America’s edge in the Pacific — if we move now

Walz and Johnson make misleading claims about bill’s impact on SNAP