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Article snippet: Mark Esper to permanently lead the Defense Department, the White House announced Friday night. Esper, who is currently the secretary of the Army, was selected by Trump earlier this week to serve as acting Defense secretary starting Monday. The White House said in a statement Friday that Trump had announced his "intent" to formally nominate Esper to the post. Trump's plan to put Esper forward for Senate confirmation comes after MORE, who led the Pentagon in an acting capacity since January, withdrew this week from consideration to lead the department on a permanent basis. Esper was confirmed as Army secretary by the Senate 89-6 in the fall of 2017, though it is unclear what path his forthcoming nomination will take in the upper chamber given the uncertainty surrounding the top leadership post in recent months. A former infantry officer, Esper previously served as a top executive at the defense contractor Raytheon before joining the Trump administration in 2017. He would be Trump's second permanent Defense secretary if confirmed by the Senate, after MORE. Mattis left the administration late last year, and Shanahan, a former longtime Boeing executive who was deputy secretary at the Pentagon, has served as acting head of the department since then. Trump had said he planned to nominate Shanahan to lead the Pentagon on a permanent basis, but never officially sent the nomination to the Senate. On Tuesday, the president announced Shanahan's abrupt withdrawal from conside... Link to the full article to read more