Christine Wormuth

American government official (born 1969)

Christine Wormuth
Official portrait, 2021
25th United States Secretary of the Army
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 28, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
DeputyChristopher Lowman (acting)
Gabe Camarillo
Preceded byJohn E. Whitley (acting)
11th Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
In office
June 23, 2014 – June 10, 2016
PresidentBarack Obama
Preceded byMichael D. Lumpkin (acting)
Succeeded byBrian McKeon (acting)
Personal details
Born (1969-04-19) April 19, 1969 (age 55)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Children2
EducationWilliams College (BA)
University of Maryland, College Park (MPP)
Signature
Christine Wormuth's voice
Wormuth's opening statement at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the FY2023 Army budget
Recorded May 5, 2022

Christine Elizabeth Wormuth[1] (born April 19, 1969) is an American defense official and career civil servant who serves as the United States Secretary of the Army since 2021.[2] She is the first female United States Secretary of the Army.[3]

Early life and education

Christine Elizabeth Wormuth[4] was born on April 19, 1969, in the community of La Jolla, north of San Diego. After growing up in College Station, Texas, she graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in political science before earning her master's in public policy from the University of Maryland.[5]

Career

Wormuth entered government service as a presidential management intern in 1995. She spent the next 6+12 years as a civil servant in the Defense Department. Later, she worked as a government consultant and then a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Before she was nominated for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Wormuth served in the National Security Council as the Special Assistant to the President and the Defense Policy and Strategy Senior Director.[6] From 2009 to 2010, Wormuth was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense.

Obama administration

Wormuth was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. On June 19, 2014, she was confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote.[7] As the Under Secretary, Wormuth contributed to counter-terrorism operations and engaged in defense relations with Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.[7]

Upon the conclusion of her tenure as the Under Secretary, Wormuth was appointed as the Director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center.[8]

Biden administration

Christine Wormuth is sworn in as the 25th secretary of the Army by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 27, 2021.

In November 2020, Wormuth was named a volunteer member of the Joe Biden presidential transition Agency Review Team to support transition efforts related to the United States Department of Defense.[9]

Secretary of the Army

On April 12, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Wormuth to serve as the 25th Secretary of the Army.[10] She is the first woman to serve in the position for the Army, however, not the first female Secretary in the United States Armed Forces, as there have been five female Secretaries of the Air Force. On April 15, 2021, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[4] On May 24, her nomination was reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee by voice vote. Two days later, her nomination was confirmed by the Senate by unanimous consent, but Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer requested it be rescinded and her confirmation was subsequently reversed hours later. This was because Republican Senator Kevin Cramer had placed a hold on her nomination to resolve an issue involving an underpaid Army Major and the Senate had mistakenly approved her nomination before he had removed his hold.[11] The following day, Cramer removed his hold after being told the pay issue would be resolved and confirmed that he supported Wormuth, who he said would "do a fine job".[11] Wormuth was then officially confirmed on May 27, again by unanimous consent. She was sworn in the following day.[2]

Personal life

Secretary Wormuth is married to Andrew "Drew" Kuepper, a former Naval Flight Officer flying the P-3 Orion who retired as a Commander in the Navy Reserve. He currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for CWMD Strategy, Plans and Policy in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.[12][13] They have two daughters.[14]

References

  1. ^ "PN361 — Christine Elizabeth Wormuth — Department of Defense, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". U.S. Congress. May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Secretary of the Army | The United States Army". Secretary of the Army | The United States Army. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  3. ^ Cox, Chelsey. "Christine Wormuth confirmed as first woman secretary of the Army". USA TODAY.
  4. ^ a b "Nominations Sent to the Senate". The White House. April 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "Christine E. Wormuth > U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE > Biography". www.defense.gov. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "Christine Wormuth". The Cipher Brief. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Senate Confirms Obama Nominee Christine Wormuth as DoD Policy Chief". Executive Gov. June 24, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  8. ^ Monica, 1776 Main Street Santa; California 90401-3208. "Christine Wormuth Appointed Director of RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center". www.rand.org. Retrieved August 30, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Agency Review Teams". President-Elect Joe Biden. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Tiron, Roxana (April 12, 2021). "Biden Picks Christine Wormuth as First Female Army Secretary". Bloomberg News. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  11. ^ a b O’Brien, Connor (May 27, 2021). "Senate confirms Wormuth as first female Army Secretary — for real this time". POLITICO.
  12. ^ https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/21-37_05-13-2021.pdf
  13. ^ https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-kuepper-7064a584
  14. ^ "Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth". US Army. Archived from the original on October 11, 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christine E. Wormuth.
Political offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of the Army
2021–present
Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded byas Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Order of precedence of the United States
as Secretary of the Army
Succeeded byas Secretary of the Navy
  • v
  • t
  • e
Senior officials in the United States Department of Defense
Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin
Deputy Secretary of Defense
Kathleen Hicks
Secretaries of the Military Departments

Secretary of the Army: Christine Wormuth
Secretary of the Navy: Carlos Del Toro
Secretary of the Air Force: Frank Kendall III
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Gen Charles Q. Brown Jr., USAF
Under Secretaries of the Military Departments

Under Secretary of the Army: Gabe Camarillo
Under Secretary of the Navy: Erik Raven
Under Secretary of the Air Force: Kristyn E. Jones (acting)
Under Secretaries of Defense for

Acquisition and Sustainment: William A. LaPlante
Research and Engineering: Heidi Shyu
Policy: Amanda J. Dory (acting)
Comptroller/Chief Financial Officer: Michael J. McCord
Personnel and Readiness: Ashish Vazirani (acting)
Intelligence: Milancy Harris (acting)
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
ADM Christopher W. Grady, USN
Chiefs of the Military Services

Chief of Staff of the Army: GEN Randy A. George
Commandant of the Marine Corps: Gen Eric M. Smith
Chief of Naval Operations: ADM Lisa M. Franchetti
Chief of Staff of the Air Force: Gen David W. Allvin
Chief of Space Operations: Gen B. Chance Saltzman
Chief of the National Guard Bureau
GEN Daniel R. Hokanson, USA
Unified Combatant Command Commanders

Africa: Gen Michael E. Langley, USMC
Central: GEN Michael E. Kurilla, USA
Cyber: Gen Timothy D. Haugh, USAF
European: GEN Christopher G. Cavoli, USA
Indo-Pacific: ADM Samuel J. Paparo Jr., USN
Northern: Gen Gregory M. Guillot, USAF
Southern: GEN Laura J. Richardson, USA
Space: Gen Stephen N. Whiting, USSF
Special Operations: GEN Bryan P. Fenton, USA
Strategic: Gen Anthony J. Cotton, USAF
Transportation: Gen Jacqueline Van Ovost, USAF
a - Acting
  • v
  • t
  • e
Department
of War
(1789–1947)
Secretaries
of War
Assistant Secretaries
of War
Under Secretaries
of War


Department
of the Army
(1947–present)
Secretaries
of the Army
Under Secretaries
of the Army
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • ISNI
  • VIAF
  • WorldCat
National
  • Germany
  • United States