Biden taps Senate staffer for Navy No. 2 civilian job

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden announced he is nominating Erik Raven, a staffer for the Senate Appropriations Committee, to be under secretary of the Navy, a post that has been filled by a parade of acting officials since the spring of 2020.

Raven previously served on staffs for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Thomas Modly, who was the last person to be confirmed by the Senate as the Navy’s second most senior civilian, left the Pentagon in April 2020 following an uproar over his actions as Acting Secretary of the Navy in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

RELATED: Modly’s Brief, Busy Tenure Started, And Ended, With Carriers 

Since Modly’s departure, several Pentagon civilians have technically served as the Navy’s No. 2 civilian, but none were nominated or confirmed for the role.

While the Navy secretary’s role is largely about being a public face for the service, the under secretary’s job is mostly about overseeing daily business operations and management issues. Raven lacks time serving in uniform, but his experience as an appropriations staffer makes him a natural choice for the under secretary’s seat.

Today Biden also announced Kristyn Jones, a senior official at a federal advisory consulting firm, as his nominee to become the Air Force comptroller. Jones has previously held a variety of other Pentagon roles including special assistant to the Army comptroller and a financial manager at the Office of Naval Research.