Christine Wormuth

Last updated

Wormuth's voice
Wormuth's opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the FY2023 Army budget
Recorded May 5, 2022
Christine Wormuth
Christine Wormuth official portrait.jpg
Official portrait, 2021
25th United States Secretary of the Army
In office
May 28, 2021 –January 20, 2025

Christine E. Wormuth [1] (born April 19, 1969) is an American defense official and career civil servant who served as the United States secretary of the Army from 2021 to 2025. [2] A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first female United States secretary of the Army. [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Christine Elizabeth Wormuth [4] was born on April 19, 1969, in the community of La Jolla, north of San Diego. [5] After growing up in College Station, Texas, she graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in political science before earning her master's in public policy from the University of Maryland. [6] [7]

Career

Wormuth entered government service as a presidential management intern in 1995. She spent the next 6+1⁄2 years as a civil servant in the Defense Department. Later, she worked as a government consultant and then a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Before she was nominated for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Wormuth served in the National Security Council as the special assistant to the president and the senior director for defense policy and strategy. [8] From 2009 to 2010, Wormuth was the principal deputy assistant secretary for homeland defense.

Obama administration

Wormuth was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the under secretary of defense for policy. On June 19, 2014, she was confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote. [9] As the under secretary, Wormuth contributed to counter-terrorism operations and engaged in defense relations with Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. [9]

Upon the conclusion of her tenure as the under secretary, Wormuth was appointed as the director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center. [10]

Biden administration

Christine Wormuth is sworn in as the 25th secretary of the Army by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 27, 2021. SECDEF Lloyd J Austin III presides over SECARMY Christine E. Wormuth's swearing-in ceremony 210527-D-BM568-2012.jpg
Christine Wormuth is sworn in as the 25th secretary of the Army by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 27, 2021.

In November 2020, Wormuth was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of Defense. [11]

Secretary of the Army

On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Wormuth to serve as the 25th secretary of the Army. [12] She is the first woman to serve in the position for the Army, however, not the first female secretary in the United States Armed Forces, as there have been five female secretaries of the Air Force. On April 15, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate. [4] On May 24, her nomination was reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee by voice vote. Two days later, her nomination was confirmed by the Senate by unanimous consent, but Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer requested it be rescinded and her confirmation was subsequently reversed hours later. This was because Republican senator Kevin Cramer had placed a hold on her nomination to resolve an issue involving an underpaid Army major and the Senate had mistakenly approved her nomination before he had removed his hold. [13] The following day, Cramer removed his hold after being told the pay issue would be resolved and confirmed that he supported Wormuth, who he said would "do a fine job". [13] Wormuth was then officially confirmed on May 27, again by unanimous consent. She was sworn in the following day. [2]

Personal life

Secretary Wormuth is married to Andrew "Drew" Kuepper, a former naval flight officer flying the P-3 Orion who retired as a commander in the Navy Reserve. He currently serves as the deputy assistant secretary for CWMD strategy, plans and policy in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. [14] [15] They have two daughters. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Barack Obama</span>

Barack Obama assumed office as the 44th president of the United States on January 20, 2009, and his term ended on January 20, 2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celeste A. Wallander</span> American government official (born 1961)

Celeste Ann Wallander is an American international relations advisor who had served as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs at the United States Department of Defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heidi Shyu</span> Taiwanese-American engineer and government official

Heidi Shyu is a Taiwanese-born American engineer who had served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in the Biden administration. She previously served as the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology ASA(ALT) from 2012 to January 30, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Norquist</span> American government official (born 1966)

David Lutz Norquist is an American financial management professional and former government official who served as the 34th United States deputy secretary of defense from 2019 to 2021. In May of 2022, Norquist was selected as the president and chief executive officer of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline Van Ovost</span> US Air Force general (born 1965)

Jacqueline Desiree Van Ovost is a retired United States Air Force general who last served as the 14th commander of United States Transportation Command from 2021 to 2024. She was nominated to that post by President Biden on March 5, 2021. Van Ovost had previously served as the commander of Air Mobility Command from 2020 to 2021. In early 2021, she was the only active-duty female four-star general officer in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Joe Biden</span> Members of President Joe Bidens Cabinet

Joe Biden assumed office as the 46th president of the United States on January 20, 2021, and his term ended on January 20, 2025. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathleen Hicks</span> American government official (born 1970)

Kathleen Anne Holland Hicks is an American civil servant who served as the United States deputy secretary of defense from 2021 to 2025. She is the first Senate-confirmed woman in this role and is the highest-ranking woman to have served in the United States Department of Defense.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Abizaid</span> American intelligence officer (born 1979)

Christine Sandra Abizaid is an American intelligence officer who was the director of the National Counterterrorism Center in the Biden administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Blume</span> American government official

Susanna Vreeland Blume is an American government official who had served the Senate–confirmed Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) for the Department of Defense. She began performing the duties of the director of CAPE on January 20, 2021. She was sworn in as the official director on August 5, 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Hruby</span> American civil servant

Jill M. Hruby is an American mechanical engineer and government official. From 2021 to 2025, Hruby served as Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, a post subject to Senate confirmation. Jill Hruby made history as the first woman to ever head a U.S. nuclear weapons lab, serving as director of Sandia National Laboratories from 2015 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Rosenblum</span> American nuclear expert

Deborah G. Rosenblum is an American nuclear expert and former career civil servant. She currently serves as the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. She had served Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs in the Biden administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Del Toro</span> Cuban-American entrepreneur and retired United States Navy officer (born 1961)

Carlos Del Toro is a Cuban-American entrepreneur and retired United States Navy officer who served as the 78th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2021 to 2025. He is the second Hispanic American to serve as the Secretary of the Navy, after Edward Hidalgo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mara Karlin</span> American foreign policy and defense advisor

Mara Elizabeth Karlin is an American foreign policy and defense advisor. In April 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Karlin to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by voice vote on August 9, 2021. Previously, she served as the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In her role, she served as the main advisor to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on U.S. security policies related to every country in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Eurasia, and the Western Hemisphere. Her portfolio included shaping U.S. defense policy related to NATO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Estevez</span> American government official

Alan F. Estevez is an American government official who is served as under secretary of commerce for industry and security in the Biden administration from 2022 to 2025.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melissa Dalton</span> American foreign policy and defense advisor

Melissa Griffin Dalton is an American defense official who served as the under secretary of the Air Force from 2024 to 2025. She previously served as the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs in the Biden administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Tia Johnson</span> American judge and academic

Musetta Tia Johnson is an American lawyer and academic who is a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radha Iyengar Plumb</span> American government official

Radha Iyengar Plumb is an American government official currently serving as the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer in the U.S. Department of Defense. She previously served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. She was confirmed for that position by the U.S. Senate on April 18, 2023 and assumed office later that month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura D. Taylor-Kale</span> American policy executive (born 1977)

Laura D. Taylor-Kale is an American foreign policy and economic advisor. She had served the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.

References

  1. ↑ "PN361 — Christine Elizabeth Wormuth — Department of Defense, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". U.S. Congress. May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Secretary of the Army | The United States Army". Secretary of the Army | The United States Army. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  3. ↑ Cox, Chelsey. "Christine Wormuth confirmed as first woman secretary of the Army". USA TODAY.
  4. 1 2 "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. April 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Military recruiting rebounds after several tough years, but challenges remain". San Diego Union-Tribune. September 26, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Christine E. Wormuth > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Biography". www.defense.gov. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  7. ↑ House, The White (April 12, 2021). "President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate 11 Key Administration Leaders on National Security and Law Enforcement | The White House". The White House. Archived from the original on January 16, 2025. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Christine Wormuth". The Cipher Brief. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  9. 1 2 "Senate Confirms Obama Nominee Christine Wormuth as DoD Policy Chief". Executive Gov. June 24, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Christine Wormuth Appointed Director of RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center". www.rand.org. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. ↑ Tiron, Roxana (April 12, 2021). "Biden Picks Christine Wormuth as First Female Army Secretary". Bloomberg News . Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  13. 1 2 O’Brien, Connor (May 27, 2021). "Senate confirms Wormuth as first female Army Secretary — for real this time". POLITICO.
  14. ↑ "Hearing to consider the nomination of honorable Christine E. Wormuth to be secretary of the army" (PDF). www.armed-services.senate.gov. Committee on Armed Services. May 13, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Andrew Kuepper". www.linkedin.com.
  16. ↑ "Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth". US Army. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022.
Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of the Army
2021–2025		Succeeded by
Mark Averill
Acting
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.