Warren Sees Possible Conflict With Acting Defense Secretary

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking the country's acting defense secretary to take steps clearing up what she described as an "ethics cloud" around his former lobbying work for Raytheon.

Acting Secretary Mark Esper served as vice president of government relations at the Waltham-based defense contractor from 2010 to 2017. In a July 11 letter to Esper, Warren said that if he is nominated and confirmed, his "potential conflicts would raise significant questions about whether the Department of Defense's (DoD) contracting decisions would favor Raytheon."

She wrote that she met with Esper last Wednesday, and he indicated that he would not extend his two-year recusal from decisions affecting Raytheon as she had requested. The recusal period is set to expire in November.

In her letter, in which she seeks a response by Friday, Warren asked that Esper extend the length of his recusal, expand it "by explicitly recusing yourself from participating in all decisions" involving Raytheon and any of its direct competitors, commit not to seek a waiver from the recusal, and determine if there are any additional steps he can take to address potential conflicts of interest. She asked that a list of those steps and actions he will take be submitted to the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which she is a member.