Obama announces DoD nominations

Obama announced four key Department of Defense posts this afternoon. The New York Times's The Caucus blog reports that Secretary Gates interviewed each of the nominees and "came away impressed with their personal character and professional credentials." (More after the jump.)

• William J. Lynn III for Deputy Secretary of Defense. Lynn served as Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) under President Clinton. Prior to entering the Department of Defense, he was a staffer for Senator Edward Kennedy.
• Robert F. Hale for Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). Hale is currently the Executive Director of the American Society of Military Comptrollers. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Financial Management and Comptroller) under President Clinton.
• Michèle Flournoy for Under Secretary of Defense (Policy). Flournoy is cofounder and president of the Center for a New American Security and served as deputy assistant secretary of defense under President Clinton. Flournoy had been considered a dark-horse candidate for Secretary of Defense.
• Jeh Charles Johnson for General Counsel. Johnson is currently a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Previously, Johnson served as General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force under Clinton, and was a Assistant U.S. Attorney and federal prosecutor.