Washington D.C. – House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith made the following statement after President Obama nominated Ash Carter as the next Secretary of Defense:

Ash Carter has the potential to be an excellent secretary of defense. Carter has spent years working in the Department of Defense in a variety of different senior positions. He understands the personalities and how the bureaucracy works. He also has a firm grasp on the policy challenges and budgetary constraints that the department faces. These are valuable traits that will help him be successful.

In the current budget and political environment, this job will not be easy. We face a number of significant threats around the globe and the congressionally mandated sequestration hinders rational budgeting and planning. The military is unnecessarily hamstrung in a growing threat environment. It is my hope that Ash Carter will be able to convince Congress to do away with sequestration and get the Department of Defense and the entire Federal Government back on sound fiscal footing.  I will do everything in my power to help him achieve that goal.

I look forward to working with Ash Carter as we seek to confront the many national security challenges our country faces.