President Joe Biden announced Friday that he will nominate Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the US Navy, making her the first woman to hold the position and serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Eric R. Dietrich / HANDOUT / AFP
- President Joe Biden announced Friday that he will nominate Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the US Navy.
- Once confirmed, she would be the first woman to hold the position and serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- But it is not clear if the Senate will confirm her when her predecessor leaves office.
President Joe Biden announced Friday that he will nominate Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the US Navy, making her the first woman to hold the position and serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
But it’s unclear if the Senate will confirm her when her predecessor leaves office, as a Republican lawmaker is stalling more than 200 top military nominations to protest the Pentagon’s decision to help troops who have to travel for abortions.
“Franchetti will bring 38 years of dedicated service to our nation as a commissioned officer, including in his current role as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations,” Biden said in a statement.
“She is the second woman to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the United States Navy and, when confirmed, she will once again make history as the first woman to serve as Chief of Naval Operations and on the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” she said.
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Franchetti has served on a number of surface ships, commanding a guided missile destroyer, a destroyer squadron, and two carrier strike groups.
She was deputy commander of the US naval forces in Europe and Africa, and deputy chief of naval operations for the conduct of the war, among other positions. She became deputy chief of naval operations in September 2022.
Admiral Mike Gilday is due to complete his four-year term as Navy chief next month, but Sen. Tommy Tuberville is likely to delay confirmation of Franchetti, who has been holding off approving military candidates for months.
dangerous delay
The senator opposes the Pentagon’s decision to allow service members to take administrative leave to receive “uncovered reproductive health care” and to establish travel allowances to help them cover costs, policies implemented after the Supreme Court struck down abortion rights nationwide last year.
Although the Senate, which must approve military officer nominations, can still vote on them individually, the Tuberville “stay” means they can’t be passed quickly in groups by unanimous consent.
Biden took aim at Tuberville in the statement, saying delaying approval of nominees “is not just wrong, it’s dangerous.”
biden said:
In this time of rapidly evolving security environments and intense competition, you are jeopardizing our ability to ensure that the United States Military remains the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And his Republican colleagues in the Senate know it.
Gilday would pass on Franchetti in his deputy capacity should he not be confirmed when he leaves office, reflecting the current situation in the Marine Corps.
Gen. Eric Smith, the assistant commandant, has been nominated to head the service but has not yet been confirmed and has been serving in an acting capacity since July 10.
Other senior officers will also leave office in the coming months, including Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley.
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