WASHINGTON, January 7 (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama has formally nominated Ashton Carter as the next US Secretary of Defense and Loretta Lynch as the Attorney General, the White House said in a statement Wednesday.
The nominations have been sent to the Senate and nominees now have to pass confirmation.
Ashton Carter served as deputy secretary of defense. He has served in various capacities for 11 secretaries of defense, including a three year stint as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs under the administration of former US President Bill Clinton.
Unlike the former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, who had been in service since February 2013, Carter does not have any military experience.
New York federal prosecutor Loretta Lynch, if confirmed by the Senate, will become the first African-American woman to hold the Attorney General position.
