Trump donor Andrew McKenna is a leading contender for secretary of the Air Force, according to three people close to the transition.
McKenna, a private pilot who heads a small Washington advisory and investment firm, would be the latest of Trump’s picks to take on a top job at the Pentagon without significant experience inside the building.
McKenna served in the White House Liaison’s office at the Agriculture Department during the George W. Bush administration before jumping into the private sector, according to a biography on his firm’s website. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about pending personnel moves.
Pete Hegseth and Dan Driscoll, Trump’s pick to become secretary of the Army, have both served in the military but neither has held a government job. Nor has John Phelan, selected by Trump for secretary of the Navy, who like McKenna is a major Trump donor.
“President-Elect Trump has made brilliant decisions on who will serve in his second administration at lightning pace,” Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the transition, said in an emailed statement. “Remaining decisions will continue to be announced by him when they are made.”
Trump has also considered former Rep. Chris Stewart, a previous Air Force bomber pilot and defender of the president-elect on the House Intelligence Committee. But the former lawmaker took himself out of the running for the job, according to a person familiar with the process.
Stewart was also in the mix for the post of director of national intelligence before Trump chose former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. A key factor for Stewart has reportedly been the health of his wife. Stewart resigned from Congress last year to take care of her.
It’s not immediately clear if McKenna would need to divest equity in defense firms. His firm advises defense companies as part of its portfolio, according to his firm’s website.
POLITICO previously reported that McKenna’s firm had provided management consulting services for the Saudi-funded LIV Golf, including monitoring and tracking 9/11 victims’ families that were protesting the tour. The firm also raised eyebrows after it reportedly hired the wife of a National Rifle Association executive despite representing a gun rights group.
The Trump transition, which sent its landing team into the Pentagon for the first time on Monday, is looking to quickly fill the agency’s large bench of Senate-confirmed appointees.
One of the people close to the transition said Trump was considering Trae Stephens, a co-founder of dronemaker Anduril, for the agency’s assistant secretary for acquisition and sustainment. Another said that James “Hondo” Geurts, a retired Air Force colonel who briefly served as acting undersecretary of the Navy during the Biden administration, was under consideration for the job.