DEFENSE/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump on Friday [6-14-19] offered a tepid assessment about Pat Shanahan’s chances of becoming the permanent defense secretary, saying, ‘We are going to see.’ Trump on Tuesday [6-11-19] indicated Shanahan’s nomination was a done deal, even though it’s been more than a month since the White House announced on May 9 that Trump intended to nominate Shanahan for the job, and he has yet to make it official…On Friday, Trump offered a less-than-full-throated endorsement when asked during an interview with ‘Fox & Friends’ if Shanahan will get the formal nomination…NBC News reported on Tuesday that Trump appeared to be having second thoughts about Shanahan and that the president had asked several people about alternative candidates, citing four people familiar with the conversations. Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, took over as acting defense secretary on Jan. 1, after former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned over Trump’s decision to pull all U.S. troops from Syria.”
–Politico Staff, “Trump on whether Shanahan will become permanent defense secretary: ‘We are going to see’,” Politico, June 14, 2019 11:49 am