page_title: Patrick M. Shanahan
section_title: Acting Secretary of Defense
hierarchical_section_title: Patrick M. Shanahan / United States Department of Defense (2017–2019) / Acting Secretary of Defense
caption_attribution_description: English: U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan, with (left) Lt. Gen. Bismillah Waziri, commander of the Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps, and Afghan Minister of Defense Asadullah Khalid, speaks with reporters at Camp Commando, Afghanistan, Feb. 11, 2019. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)
context_page_description: Patrick Michael Shanahan is a former United States federal government official who served as acting U.S. Secretary of Defense in 2019. President Donald Trump appointed Shanahan to the role after the resignation of Retired General James N. Mattis. Shanahan served as Deputy Secretary of Defense from 2017 to 2019. He previously spent 30 years at Boeing in a variety of roles.
  The White House announced on May 9, 2019, that Trump intended to nominate Shanahan as the Secretary of Defense. That decision was reversed on June 18, 2019, when Shanahan said that he was withdrawing, and Trump announced that he would be making Mark Esper the acting U.S. Secretary of Defense. Shanahan's last day in that position was June 24, 2019.
context_section_description: President Trump initially announced that Shanahan would be elevated on February 28, 2019 to Acting Defense Secretary, when the Jim Mattis resignation was originally to become effective. But a follow-up Trump Twitter announcement on December 23, 2018 stated that Shanahan would be elevated two months prior to the resignation date announced by Mattis. Trump accelerated Mattis's departure date after reportedly becoming angered by the media coverage of his resignation letter, due to language in Mattis’ resignation letter which criticized Trump's worldview. Shanahan assumed the office on January 1, 2019.
  Shanahan made an unannounced trip to Afghanistan on February 11, 2019 meeting with President Ashraf Ghani, the country's chief executive Abdullah Abdullah, and defense minister Asadullah Khalid during the first few hours of his trip.
  Shanahan visited the US–Mexico Border on February 23, 2019 with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff USMC General Joseph Dunford and Commander of the United States Army Corps of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite for joint assessments with Border Patrol, DHS, and others.
  In late March 2019, news sources reported that Shanahan was under investigation by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General because of allegations he improperly advocated on behalf of his former employer, Boeing Co.
  In a May 2019 internal memo, Shanahan ordered new restrictions on how information about global operational plans and orders are shared with Congress, such that summaries are provided rather than an actual plan or order that was requested.
  On May 9, 2019, the White House announced that President Trump would nominate Shanahan as his second defense secretary, despite skepticism and even hostility from lawmakers and officials within the Department of Defense. However, Shanahan withdrew from the confirmation process in June, following increased public scrutiny of several incidents and allegations of domestic violence involving Shanahan's ex-wife and son. In a tweet addressing the withdrawal of the nomination, President Trump said that Shanahan intended to "devote more time to his family."
caption: Shanahan in Afghanistan, February 11, 2019
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