The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) approved Lockheed Martin [LMT] executive John Rood to be undersecretary of defense for policy Nov. 30 despite concerns among some lawmakers about the number of Pentagon appointees who hail from top defense firms.
Those concerns flared at a Nov. 16 hearing, where Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the committee’s chairman, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) grilled Rood about how he would recuse himself from matters involving his latest employer to avoid conflicts of interest (Defense Daily, Nov. 17). McCain said he would oppose further nominees with such a background. 
Other Trump administration appointees tapped from major defense contractors include Deputy Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan, who worked at Boeing [BA], and Army Secretary Mark Esper, who came from Raytheon [RTN].
Rood, senior vice president of Lockheed Martin International, apparently eased the committee’s concerns by submitting written answers to its conflict-of-interest questions. He told the committee that if a waiver from his two-year recusal is needed to promote national security or U.S. interests, he will seek the defense secretary’s approval and notify the SASC.
Rood and Randall Schriver, nominated to be assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific affairs, were approved by voice vote. Their nominations now head to the full Senate for its consideration.