Michele Flournoy, a possible pick for second in command at the Pentagon, confirmed Monday she does not want to be in the running for the position.
“Given recent media speculation, we wanted to clarify that Michèle Flournoy will remain CEO of [Center for a New American Security], a position in which she has exceeded our highest expectations,” Kurt Campbell, chairman of CNAS’s Board of Directors, said in a statement Monday, according to The Washington Examiner.
“She has the utmost respect for General James Mattis. While she had several conversations with General Mattis about how she could support his success as the nominee for secretary of defense, she has no plans to return to government service at this time,” Campbell said.
Last Friday, Politico reported that Flournoy met with retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, likely about sliding into the position of deputy secretary of defense. Flournoy previously served as under secretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2012.
Flournoy has now had multiple possible shots at the highest DOD roles. After then-Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel resigned in late 2014, Flournoy was in the running for secretary of defense in the Obama administration, but said she “removed [herself] from consideration due to family concerns.”
However, before she was in the running for secretary of defense in the Obama administration, Flournoy testified before Congress that the Obama administration has a tendency to micromanage the Pentagon, echoing the complaints of many top-level military officials and former Pentagon heads.
“Too often that happens because of two reasons: one, a lack of role clarity, who has what job; and two, a risk aversion,” she told the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
At the time, Flournoy also served as a foreign policy adviser for former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and she emerged as Clinton’s top pick for secretary of defense.
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