President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Philip Bilden, a private equity investment firm executive, as Navy secretary, the Washington Post and other news outlets report.
Bilden has “moved to the front of the pack and is expected to be named as early as next week,” a transition official told the Post.
Bilden, who has no military or government experience, has lived in Hong Kong since 1996. Despite his lack of military experience, Bilden apparently is no stranger to military issues.
His background includes serving on the board of directors of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, according to the Washington Examiner. Bilden also “has close ties to retired Gen. James Mattis, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense; retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump’s incoming national security adviser; and retired Navy admiral James Stavridis, the current dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University,”
Foreign Policy reports.
