US Confirms Trump Nominee Mark Esper's Appointment as Secretary of Defence

Washington [US], July 24 (ANI): The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed former soldier Mark Esper as the new secretary of defence.The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favour of Esper with 90 votes against 8. He will be the first permanent chief since James Mattis stepped down in January, reported CNN.US President Donald Trump is expected to formally appoint Esper later in the day.Though Esper received board support in the Senate, several Democratic presidential hopefuls including Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren voted against him.Last month, Trump nominated Esper to be the next defence secretary after Patrick Shanahan abruptly withdrew from the confirmation process earlier this week.Shanahan resigned from his post as the Acting Secretary of Defence last month after reports revealing his son's violent behaviour towards his mother in 2011 emerged.The official's son had reportedly attacked his mother with a baseball bat around eight years ago, following which Shanahan had allegedly penned a memo arguing that the 17-year-old had acted in self-defence. (ANI)

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