Trump taps billionaire Stephen Feinberg to be deputy defence secretary – Times of India

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Sunday tapped Stephen Feinberg, a billionaire supporter with ties to the defence contracting industry, for the role of deputy secretary of defence. The announcement, made on Trump’s social media platform, follows reports that the offer was extended to Feinberg earlier in December.
Feinberg serves as co-CEO of Cerberus Capital Management, an investment firm with interests in hypersonic missile development and a former owner of the private military contractor DynCorp, which was acquired by Amentum in 2020.
During Trump’s first term, Feinberg chaired the president’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which advises the president on intelligence and counterintelligence matters. Trump praised Feinberg as “an extremely successful businessman” who would contribute to “Making the Pentagon Great Again.”
The role of deputy defence secretary involves overseeing the daily operations of the defence department, a vast organization comprising over three million military and civilian personnel. The appointment carries heightened significance amid debates over Trump’s nominee for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News contributor who has faced controversy.
Hegseth’s past includes an allegation of sexual assault in 2017 by a woman who claimed he raped her at a California Republican women’s event. While no charges were filed after a police and prosecutor review, Hegseth’s attorney stated the encounter was consensual and described the woman as the initiator, adding that Hegseth had been “visibly intoxicated” at the time.
Trump also nominated additional defence-related appointments on Sunday. He nominated Elbridge A. Colby, a former deputy assistant secretary of defence known for his hawkish stance on China and advocacy for defending Taiwan in potential conflicts, as undersecretary for policy. Keith Bass, a retired Navy officer who previously led the White House Medical Unit under both the Obama and Trump administrations, was named as the pick for assistant secretary of defence for health affairs.