Military

Senate confirms three appointees to Pentagon

By unanimous consent, the Senate confirmed David Norquist to be comptroller, Robert Story Karem as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs and Kari Bingen as principal deputy under secretary of defense for intelligence. 

The trio brings the total number of political appointees at DoD to five, including Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. 

The three nominees also represent a trend of the Trump team choosing individuals from the Republican establishment, rather than outsiders in line with the president’s “Drain the Swamp” motto. Norquist served in the Bush administration and is the brother of noted Republican advocate Grover Norquist; Bingen, who has served in several congressional staff positions, is currently the policy director for the House Armed Services Committee. She previously worked as a top space policy analyst for the Aerospace Corporation. Karem has worked as a Middle East adviser to then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a legislative aide to now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and a national security adviser to both Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy in the House.