Trump Military Nominee Waits Year for Confirmation

Wednesday marked one year since President Trump nominated Navy Captain Charles “Cully” Stimson to be general counsel for the Department of the Navy, highlighting why the Senate’s August recess needed to be canceled. Over 300 Senate-confirmed positions are still vacant 18 months into the administration. People expect the president’s administration to be fully staffed, with dozens of new federal judges as well.

The Department of the Navy includes the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps. It is a component of the Defense of Defense (DOD), as are the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. The general counsel is the No. 3 position in the Department of the Navy, and commands roughly 1,000 lawyers the in the Navy’s Office of General Counsel, yet despite its importance President Trump’s pick is still not in place.

No one is questioning Stimson’s credentials for the job. Yet a full year after the president picked him to lead the Office of General Counsel, the full Senate has yet to vote on him.

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