Nomination of Mark T. Esper

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, the Senate's first order of business this week will be confirming a thoroughly well-prepared nominee to a post of vital national importance. Later today, we will vote to advance the nomination of Dr. Mark Esper to serve as Secretary of Defense, and we will vote on his confirmation tomorrow.

When Dr. Esper was nominated in July of 2017 to serve as Secretary of the Army, he already possessed an impressive record that spanned public service, the private sector, and, of course, his distinguished service in uniform. As a student, he excelled at West Point. He served honorably in combat during the Gulf war as an infantry officer with Kentucky's own 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles. He then later obtained a master's degree from the Kennedy School at Harvard and a Ph.D. from George Washington University.

In the years since, Dr. Esper has continued to serve his country, compiling an outstanding record in public service. He has served as Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Pentagon; as a Senate-appointed member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; and, of course, as a trusted staff expert right here in the Capitol.

As a result, many of our colleagues have been familiar with this nominee for more than a decade. Members on both sides remember Mark Esper from his time on staff with our former colleague Chuck Hagel. Some knew him during his tenure with the Foreign Relations Committee or with what was then the Governmental Affairs Committee, and many of us inevitably crossed paths with the smart and level-headed national security adviser for Majority Leader Bill Frist.

So, when President Trump first nominated Dr. Esper to be Secretary of the Army 2 years ago, my colleagues and I were well acquainted with his expertise, his professionalism, and his patriotic dedication to the men and women who serve to keep us safe. It is no wonder that this body confirmed him to that post by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. Since then, Secretary Esper has continued to impress. He has continued to earn the praise of experts and colleagues from every corner of the national security landscape.

``He's highly regarded inside the Army. Soldiers like him.''

He is ``someone who can work across the aisle . . . somebody who can work with Congress.''

Additionally, he is ``superbly well qualified by experience and temperament for the position.''

Another quote: ``The nation would be lucky to have Mark serve in any capacity . . . He is particularly well-suited to step into one of the most important jobs in the world.''

This is high praise from former Pentagon officials of the Obama years and from widely recognized national security professionals. Just last week, our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee offered a ringing endorsement of their own by voting by voice to favorably report his nomination to the floor.

It would be hard to draw up a more compelling case than the one in front of us for confirming Dr. Mark Esper, and it is hard to imagine a more persuasive argument for doing it right away--with no further delay--than the front pages of newspapers all around the world every day.

The world is full of serious threats to America, to our allies, and to our interests. Not the least among them, obviously, is Iran's insistence on continuing to ratchet up tensions in the Middle East. Having a Senate-confirmed Secretary of Defense, especially one of this quality, could not have come a moment too soon.

In closing, when Secretary Esper took his last job, he wrote Army personnel a letter that laid out three priorities: readiness, modernization, and reform. Since then, he has played an active role in this administration's efforts to restore the primacy and lethality of America's fighting forces, and the success of defense authorizations and ongoing operations abroad bear his fingerprints.

We are reminded every day that this work continues, and we are reminded why. My colleagues should be proud to join me today in voting to advance the Esper nomination and in putting the right man on the job.

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