WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, today met with former Deputy Secretary of Defense, and nominee for Secretary of Defense, Dr. Ashton Carter, ahead of his confirmation process in the Senate.

“The world’s greatest military needs great leadership at its helm to take on not only the immense threats we face as a nation from extremists like ISIL, but also to tackle system-wide issues like sexual assault and military spending,” McCaskill said. “I’ve worked with Dr. Carter in the past to increase oversight of wartime contracting, and with his far-reaching practical and academic experience in defense issues, I’m confident he can continue to improve accountability in our military while meeting the challenges we face abroad.”

 

Dr. Carter holds a B.A. in both physics and medieval history from Yale University, a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Oxford University where he was also a Rhodes Scholar, and chaired the International and Global Affairs faculty at Harvard. In addition to serving as the Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2011-2013, Dr. Carter has served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics from 2009-2011, and is the four time recipient of the Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal.