WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s choice to be secretary of the Navy, businessman Philip Bilden, said Sunday he was withdrawing from consideration for the post, citing concerns about privacy and separating himself from his business interests.
Bilden’s withdrawal raises similar issues to that of Vincent Viola, Trump’s nominee for Army secretary who stepped aside earlier this month.
Bilden was an intelligence officer in the Army Reserve from 1986-1996. He relocated to Hong Kong to set up an Asian presence for HarbourVest Partners LLC, a global private equity management firm. Bilden recently retired from HarbourVest Partners after 25 years.
In a statement released by the Pentagon, Bilden said he determined that he would not be able to satisfy the Office of Government Ethics requirements without what he called “undue disruption and materially adverse divestment of my family’s private financial interests.”
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement that he would make a recommendation to Trump for a nominee in the coming days.
Viola cited his inability to successfully navigate the confirmation process and Defense Department rules concerning family businesses.
Grieving father
The father of a Navy SEAL killed during an anti-terrorism raid in Yemen is demanding an investigation into its planning and criticized the Trump administration for its timing.
Bill Owens told the Miami Herald in a story published Sunday that he refused to meet with Trump when both came to Dover Air Force Base to receive the casket carrying his son, Chief Special Warfare Officer William “Ryan” Owens.
“I want an investigation,” said Owens, a retired Fort Lauderdale police detective and veteran. “The government owes my son an investigation.”
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told ABC’s This Week on Sunday she believes the president would support an investigation.
“I can’t imagine what this father is going through,” she said. “His son is a true American hero, and we should forever be in his son’s debt.”
Federal benefits
Administration officials say Trump has no plans to cut Social Security or Medicare.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures that “we are not touching those now.” He said people should not “expect to see that as part” of the administration’s first budget.
Mnuchin said Trump’s priority was passing legislation to reduce middle-class and corporate taxes.
Asked about potential cuts to the programs on ABC’s This Week, deputy White House press secretary `Huckabee Sanders said Trump was “committed” to keeping his campaign promise to leave Medicare and Social Security alone.