Trump Chooses Tata, a Retired General, for Top Defense Post

(Bloomberg) -- Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general and Fox News commentator, will be named to a top job at the Pentagon, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday night.

Tata, a West Point graduate who has published several novels, would become undersecretary of Defense for policy, if confirmed by the Senate. He would be replacing John Rood, who was ousted in February.

Rood was the official who certified to Congress last May that Ukraine was eligible to receive $250 million in security assistance. That aid was later temporarily blocked by the White House, a decision at the center of President Donald Trump’s impeachment.

Since his retirement from the Army in 2009, Tata has been the secretary of North Carolina’s Transportation Department; the chief operations officer of the District of Columbia Public Schools; and the superintendent of the Wake County public schools in North Carolina.

The Defense Department referred questions about Tata’s nomination to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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