Risky Business: Biden Admin Considers Civilian to Run Missile Defense Agency

WASHINGTON DC, OCTOBER 26, 2018: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks before the start of a meeting in Washington DC with Defense Department leaders. The meeting took place in the State Dining Room of White House on October 26, 2022. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images).

The Biden administration is planning to break precedent and nominate a civilian to oversee America’s missile defense operations rather than a military official, sources tell the Washington Free Beacon—a move that former agency chiefs say would put U.S. national security at risk.

Vice admiral Jon Hill is the current director of U.S. Missile Defense Agency. He will retire in the latter part of this year. The Biden administration has privately told lawmakers that it can’t find military leaders interested in the position and plans to nominate a civilian to lead the agency for the first time, congressional sources told the Free Beacon.

Although the Department of Defense hasn’t announced any candidates, congressional aides told the Free Beacon that one name being floated is the MDA’s civilian executive director, Laura DeSimone, who holds the deputy role at the agency. The Pentagon did not respond when we asked for comment.

The news follows the Biden administration’s decision to Scrap the sea-launched nuclear missile program, defying the advice of senior military officials and raising concerns on Capitol Hill about the administration’s seriousness on missile defense. This comes amid increased Russian nuclear attack risks, as President Joe Biden stated. Claim The “prospect of Armageddon” The Cuban missile crisis was the worst.

Defense hawks on Capitol Hill are concerned about civilian leadership. They also raised concerns with former MDA directors. On Friday, they sent a letter asking the Senate and House Armed Services Committees to reject non-military nominees. “increasing threats to the homeland from a widening array of sophisticated capabilities.” Senate confirmation would be required to confirm the nominee.

“Any suggestion that the next director could be a civilian leader should be carefully scrutinized and almost certainly rejected,” wrote former MDA directors Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, Lt. Gen. Patrick J. O’Reilly, Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering, and Vice Adm. James D. Syring.

“Now is not the right time to experiment in the leadership of the agency most suited to defend the American against those threats.”