WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) released the following statement after voting to approve the nomination of Dr. Mark Esper to serve as Secretary of Defense:

“We live in a complex and dangerous world, and the threats we face grow more serious by the day. Americans deserve to have steady leadership guiding the Department of Defense and focusing on ensuring our national security,” said Senator King. “After working with Dr. Esper for the past twenty months in his capacity as Secretary of the Army and Acting Secretary of Defense, I’ve found him to be a serious, thoughtful leader who has the ability to lead large and complex organizations, a grasp on the entire threat landscape, and will not hesitate to offer the President his best advice – even if the President disagrees with the assessment. This is the type of strong, independent leadership America needs at the Pentagon; I believe that Dr. Esper is up to this important responsibility.”

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator King is recognized as a thoughtful voice on national security and foreign policy issues in the Senate. Last week, when questioning Secretary Esper during his nomination hearing, he reminded the nominee of the importance of America’s alliances, emphasized the dangers of miscalculations leading to military action with Iran, and urged Esper to monitor any collaborative effort by Russia and China to undermine American interests abroad. In addition to his committee work, Senator King serves on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the Senate North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Observer Group, and the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.