Biden Overrules Pentagon and Names a Female Admiral to Head the Navy

GURPS · Jul 23, 2023

Joe Biden is obsessed with “firsts” — especially when it comes to naming minorities to positions in his administration. Biden has prioritized “diversity” over almost everything else, including merit, experience, and judging by some of his choices, intelligence (we’re looking at you, Mayor Pete).

So it was no surprise when Biden announced that the new chief of naval operations would be Adm. Lisa Franchetti — the first woman to lead the Navy and the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The backstory to Franchetti’s nomination, as told by Politico, is that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had two slates of nominees for Biden to examine, including two choices for the top job and other nominations for open posts. One slate that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pushed had Adm. Samuel Paparo, who leads the U.S. Pacific Fleet, named as chief of naval operations. Paparo had several years on the front lines facing down China in the South China Sea.

The other slate had Franchetti ascending to the top spot from her post as Vice Chief of Naval Operations — a post she’s held for less than a year. So Biden chooses a rookie to match wits with the Chinese military. Paparo will now head up the Indo-Pacific Command.

Austin, the good soldier, took the snub quietly and without apparent malice.

The president doesn’t normally hand-pick the Navy’s top officer, so Biden’s decision to tap Franchetti for the job could be seen as a rebuke of Austin. But the move has not caused tension in the relationship, Sullivan said on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum.
“The president had the chance to sit with the secretary of Defense, and they worked this slate together, and this is the slate, and that’s a good thing,” he said.
Asked if there was any daylight between Biden and Austin, Sullivan said, “I don’t believe there is.” Both men ended the discussion “feeling very good about where we are,” he said