White House reviews candidates to replace Pentagon No. 2 Steve Feinberg
Sources did not say why the White House was reviewing potential replacements and did not specify which candidates the it was considering.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg (left) sits with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as he meets Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Pentagon in Washington in July last year. | REUTERS
Sep 5, 2026
Washington/New York – The White House has reviewed candidates to potentially replace Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg, three people familiar with the discussions said, a sign that more leadership change could come for a Pentagon already facing unusually high staff turnover.
The effort, which was underway in June, has included conversations with senior lawmakers in the Senate about whether the administration’s picks would have enough support to be confirmed, said two of the people, one of whom added that the review was still going on as of late August. Reporters could not determine when the White House began considering candidates.
The three sources said no decision had been made to remove Feinberg from his post. They did not say why the White House was reviewing potential replacements and did not specify which candidates the White House was considering.
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