OAN’s Shawntel Smith-Hill
5:22 PM – Friday, July 21, 2023
On Friday, President Joe Biden nominated Admiral (Adm) Lisa Franchetti to be the Navy’s top officer. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to take on the role of Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) and become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
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Franchetti, who has served as a commissioned officer for nearly four decades, has previously held roles such as Commander of United States Naval Forces Korea and has also commanded two carrier strike groups. She became the Vice Chief of Naval Operations in September 2022.
“As our next Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti will bring 38 years of dedicated service to our nation as a commissioned officer, including in her current role of Vice Chief of Naval Operations,” Biden said in an announcement on Friday. “Throughout her career, Admiral Franchetti has demonstrated extensive expertise in both the operational and policy arenas. She is the second woman ever to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and when confirmed, she will again make history as the first woman to serve as the Chief of Naval Operations and on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
Along with Franchetti, Vice Adm. James Kilby, the Deputy Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Vice Adm. Samuel Paparo, for Commander of Indo-Pacific Command, and Vice Adm. Stephen “Web” Koehler, for Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, were also nominated by Vice Adm. Biden.
The news was made while Senator Tommy Tuberville was blocking all nominees for positions in the American military in Congress.
Biden said in an announcement that the delay undermined national security, and he continued by saying that it is “not only wrong — it is dangerous.”
“The American people support our military and their families,” he said. “I urge the Senate to approve all the outstanding military nominees as quickly as possible.”
“He is risking our ability to ensure that the United States Armed Forces remain the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. And his Republican colleagues in the Senate know it.” Biden Continued.
Despite the effort from Biden to remove the nomination block, Tuberville has remained steadfast in his protest against a Defense Department policy that reimburses costs for service members who travel out of state in order to get an abortion.
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