David Norquist

American government official (born 1966) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

David Norquist

David Lutz Norquist (born November 24, 1966)[3] is an American financial management professional and former government official who served as the 34th United States deputy secretary of defense from 2019 to 2021. In May of 2022, Norquist was selected as the president and chief executive officer of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).[4]

Quick Facts Acting United States Secretary of Defense, President ...
David Norquist
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Official portrait, 2019
Acting United States Secretary of Defense
In office
January 20, 2021  January 22, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byChristopher C. Miller (acting)
Succeeded byLloyd Austin
34th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
In office
July 31, 2019  February 8, 2021
PresidentDonald Trump
Joe Biden
Preceded byPatrick Shanahan
Succeeded byKathleen Hicks
Acting
January 1, 2019  July 23, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byPatrick Shanahan
Succeeded byRichard V. Spencer (acting)
7th Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/CFO
In office
June 2, 2017  July 31, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byJohn P. Roth (acting)
Succeeded byElaine McCusker (acting)
Chief Financial Officer of the United States Department of Homeland Security
In office
June 1, 2006  December 1, 2008
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byAndrew Maner[1]
Succeeded byMargaret Sherry[2]
Personal details
Born (1966-11-24) November 24, 1966 (age 58)
Concord, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseStephanie
Children3
RelativesGrover Norquist (brother)
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BA, MPP)
Georgetown University (MA)
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Early life and education

Norquist graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science and a Master of Public Policy (MPP) in 1989. In 1995, he received a Master of Arts (MA) in National Security Studies from Georgetown University.[5][6] He is the brother of lobbyist Grover Norquist.[7]

Career

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Norquist began his career in 1989 as a Presidential Management Fellow and GS-9 Program Budget Analyst, a federal civil servant position for the Department of the Army; he served in that position for four years.[5][8] From 1993 to 1995, he was a budget analyst in the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command.[5] Norquist was Director of Resource Management at Menwith Hill Station in Harrogate, United Kingdom for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command from 1995 to 1996.[5] For six years, between 1997 and 2002, Norquist worked as a staffer on the Subcommittee on Defense for the House Appropriations Committee.[9] Between 2002 and 2006, he was Deputy Undersecretary of Defense in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller of the Department of Defense.[5][8]

In 2006, Norquist was selected by President George W. Bush to be Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Homeland Security. He served in this position from June 1, 2006 to December 1, 2008.[10][11] As the first person to be confirmed by the Senate for that position, he took steps to address widespread problems with DHS's financial statements.[12]

In 2008, Norquist joined Kearney & Company, a certified public accounting firm, as a partner.[13]

On March 20, 2017, President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Norquist to be Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer in the Department of Defense.[8] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on May 25, 2017 by unanimous consent[14] and began serving on June 2, 2017.[15] As Comptroller, he oversaw DoD's first-ever department-wide audit of $2.7 trillion in assets, which involved over 1,000 outside auditors and discovered "major flaws" but no "major cases of fraud or abuse."[16]

Deputy Secretary of Defense

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Following the December 2018 resignation of Jim Mattis as secretary of defense, deputy secretary Patrick Shanahan was made the acting secretary of defense and Norquist was made acting deputy secretary.[17] He served as acting deputy for several months before being formally nominated for the position. After Shanahan suddenly resigned on June 18, 2019, President Trump announced his intention to nominate Army secretary Mark Esper to be defense secretary.[18] On June 21, the president announced his intention to nominate Norquist to be deputy secretary. His nomination was sent to the Senate on July 23, and he was confirmed by voice vote on July 30, 2019, after having acted in the role for nearly seven months.[19]

Norquist pledged to shake up the defense budget and to place a high priority on funding research and development of cutting-edge technologies such as hypersonics and artificial intelligence.[20] On August 2, 2019, he signed a memo to department leaders ordering a comprehensive, "zero-based" program and budget review for 2021 to 2025.[21]

Acting Secretary of Defense

Norquist became the acting secretary of defense on January 20, 2021, and served in that role until Lloyd Austin, the Biden administration's nominee, was confirmed by the Senate on January 22.[22][23][24][25]

Personal life

Norquist and his wife, Stephanie, have three children.[5] He is the younger brother of Grover Norquist,[26] founder of Americans for Tax Reform.

Publications

References

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