Lawmakers approve four Pentagon assistant secretaries

Lawmakers have confirmed four new Defense Department assistant secretaries, including the head of Asian and Pacific affairs.

The Senate, late Wednesday, approved by voice vote the four nominees: Randall Schriver for assistant secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific affairs; Bruce Jette for assistant secretary for the Army for acquisition, technology and logistics; John Roth for assistant secretary of the Air Force for financial management; and Thomas Harker for assistant secretary of the Navy for financial management.

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Schriver, a former President George W. Bush State Department official, was the deputy assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs from 2003 to 2005. He also served as chief of staff and senior policy adviser to then-deputy secretary of State Richard Armitage from 2001 to 2003.

Schriver most recently worked at the private consultant firm Armitage International and was president and CEO of the think tank Project 2049 Institute.

Jette, an Army veteran, was previously chief executive of military consulting firm Synovision Solutions. He was also the founder of the Army Rapid Equipping Force.

Roth, formerly the Pentagon’s deputy comptroller for program and budget, has held several financial officer positions within Defense and served as the principal adviser to the defense secretary on budgetary matters.

Harker, a Coast Guard veteran, was previously the associate deputy assistant secretary for financial policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He also served as a policy analyst at the Office of Management and Budget under former President Obama.

All four will be sworn in to their new positions in the next several days.