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Washington, D.C. – House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has released the following statement in response to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin naming Derek Chollet as the department’s new chief of staff. Chollet was nominated as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, but his nomination has stalled due to serious concerns with his previous role in the Biden administration’s chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan. Chairman McCaul urged the Senate not to approve Chollet’s nomination in February after his lack of candor in his transcribed interview with the committee.

“I am incredibly disappointed in Secretary Austin for making the ill-advised decision to name Derek Chollet as the Pentagon’s chief of staff,” stated Chairman McCaul. “He is absolutely unqualified for this position. His lack of candor in my committee’s transcribed interview together with his flippant public remarks about his work at the State Department make it clear he is neither a serious person nor is he trustworthy. With the many national security threats this country is facing, we need real leadership at the Defense Department – and Derek Chollet is not that. I strongly urge the secretary to reconsider this move.”

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