The 9/11 Commission Said National Security Vacancies Were A Problem. Biden’s Pentagon Is ‘Far Worse’
The Senate is “falling far behind” as Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees consider 14 nominees this week.
By Jacqueline Feldscher
Senior National Security Correspondent
October 5, 2021 05:50 PM ET
Senate committees this week are considering more than a dozen national security and foreign policy officials in what experts hope is an effort to pick up the pace on a sluggish confirmation process that is dangerous for the country.
Many national-security positions remain vacant nearly nine months into the Biden administration due to a historically slow-moving confirmation process. But quickly getting people on the job after a presidential transition is critical to the country’s safety. The 9/11 Commission Report found that the lack of confirmed national security appointees on Sept. 11, 2001, hurt the nation’s ability to respond to the terrorist attacks.
By Oct. 5, 2001, the Bush administration had 34 Pentagon officials confirmed, according to data provided by Loren DeJonge Schulman, who leads the research, analysis and evaluation team at the Partnership for Public Service. Today, at the same point in his presidency, Biden has just 21.
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2021/10/911-commission-said-national-security-vacancies-were-problem-bidens-pentagon-far-worse/185881/
