Navy Secretary Richard Spencer has become Pentagon's acting defense secretary, as the U.S. Senate has received the packet nominating Mark Esper to be the confirmed secretary of defense.
"At 3:04 p.m. today, the Senate received the President's formal nomination of Dr. Mark T. Esper to be Secretary of Defense," chief Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
The move means Esper must step down from his current role as acting Defense Secretary, temporarily heading back to his former Army Secretary position, as required under the 2010 executive order 'Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Defense,' the Hill reported.
