Defense secretary must perform a 'delicate dance' between president, Congress and public

Senate confirmation hearings for Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Donald Trump has selected to be the next secretary of defense, are scheduled to begin on January 14, 2025. It's a difficult job that broadly affects the safety of Americans at home and abroad, and oversees large numbers of people and huge amounts of money.

The Conversation asked Evelyn Farkas, a longtime Defense Department leader and now executive director of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, to explain what the secretary of defense’s job is and what it takes to make someone effective in the job. . During the Obama administration, Farkas served as deputy assistant secretary of defense, responsible for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia. Before that, she served as a civilian adviser to NATO's top military officer, and earlier that she was a senior staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which oversees the military. She also serves as a professor at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

What does the Secretary of Defense do?

They are responsible for approximately 3.4 million people, including 1.2 million active duty military personnel and 1.3 million reservists, and approximately 900,000 civilian employees. The secretary of state has a responsibility to ensure that these individuals can do their jobs — which, in general, is to defend the United States, the American people, and American interests.

They are responsible for defense policy, spending and operations, including personnel, property and equipment at approximately 500 military bases in all 50 states and approximately 750 military bases in 80 countries around the world. They are responsible for the budget and spend nearly $2 trillion a year in federal funds, about 16 percent of the total federal budget.

What are the responsibilities of the Secretary of State in commanding the nation's military forces?

The president is the commander-in-chief and decides when and how to use the military. But the President's decision to use force relies on the input and advice of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The President orders the Secretary of State to carry out military operations, and the order is issued by the Secretary of State to the relevant commanders.

What is an average day or week for a Secretary of Defense?

The secretary sets the vision and tone for the Department of Defense, helps the president develop the national defense strategy, and then implements that strategy. The Secretary of State also designs and implements policies to advance the President's strategic and overall national security objectives.

The Department of Defense's responsibilities focus on the use of military forces, whether to deter attacks or defend U.S. interests. The Secretary of State must ensure that the military is well equipped and trained to fight and win the nation's wars, as well as conduct any other operations, such as humanitarian, counterterrorism, or peace operations.

The Secretary sets priorities, which are reflected in the department's budget. Of course, the budget must be negotiated with Congress. The Secretary holds daily meetings with those responsible for managing different aspects of the department's activities. This happens frequently when the Pentagon or the Secretary of State visits military units and installations in the United States or around the world.

There are undersecretaries for policy and budget and other functions such as personnel and readiness. And then there are the service secretaries, who deal with all of these issues, but only for one specific service—the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), and the Air Force (including the Space Force).

Does the President speak regularly with the Secretary of Defense?

It's up to the president. Most presidents hold regular meetings with senior officials in the cabinet, collectively and, of course, individually. Some presidents have lunch with cabinet members or just hold formal meetings.

Generally speaking, most presidents seek to hold at least one meeting per week with the secretary of defense. A lot happens in the world, and most events or crises involve decisions about the use of military force or impacts on defense capabilities.

How does the Secretary of Defense impact the lives of ordinary Americans?

The Secretary of State's decision to participate in the use of nuclear weapons will certainly affect nearly every American. So that's one way that any decision involving war could affect any given American.

Beyond that, the economic ripple effects of decisions made by the secretary of state could ripple across the country. The defense budget is large, but not large enough to affect everyone at once. But for example, if the Secretary of Defense decides to close a base, that will have an impact, at least indirectly, on most, if not all, people in that community. Businesses will have to adapt or close, and service members and their families will have to relocate. The community's political leadership will have the authority to make decisions regarding the civilian use of properties previously owned by the Department of Defense.

Nearly every type of company does business with the Department of Defense, either directly or indirectly. In addition to combat equipment, the commissary also stocks food, medicine, and various general items purchased by the military.

Then there's research and development. Historically, the Department of Defense has invested heavily in these efforts, which has had a large impact on consumers' lives. It's not just the internet, although that's an example of something invented for military purposes and then converted to civilian use. A lot of smaller developments also happen because when a lot of money is invested in innovation, they find something that can be commercialized.

Today, the civilian sector has surpassed the Department of Defense in R&D and innovation, but defense funding still plays a large role.

What personal or professional traits make for an effective Secretary of Defense?

I work for four of them, three of them directly. Robert Gates has a high level of empathy and extensive government experience. Leon Panetta has a keen sense of humor and a direct and entertaining way of interacting. He also has the advantage of having held a number of senior positions in other parts of government. Chuck Hagel has a direct connection to the Senate, and Ashton Carter is a diligent pundit.

The most useful qualities include honesty, empathy, a sense of humor, a sharp intellect, the ability to learn quickly, and the skill to quickly determine what is important. Of course, previous government experience working with the sector is invaluable. Before starting work, it's helpful to understand how the Department of Defense operates, all of its components, and its strengths and weaknesses. The department has both military and civilian bureaucracies and it will take some smart work to get it to move quickly to implement the president's strategy.

During the confirmation process, secretaries of state, like all nominees, must certify in writing (and sometimes verbally) that they will provide Congress with truthful answers and that they will respond when Congress asks questions.

Different secretaries do this better than others. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld often annoys members of Congress because he knows there are time limits on his ability to speak and each senator's ability to speak. So he would keep talking until time ran out, much to their annoyance. He did not always answer questions directly and sometimes appeared arrogant.

Interaction with Congress is this delicate dance because the secretary wants to protect the prerogatives of the president and the executive branch. But Congress pays the bills, provides any new powers the secretary of state may seek, and can cut powers and budgets. The Secretary wants to defend the Department of Defense's policies, budgets and operations. But they also want to respect the roles and responsibilities of Congress and individual members of Congress.

Sometimes this balance is difficult to achieve. Their jobs are so demanding that they are called upon to testify before Congress, often with television cameras on. Members of Congress are not always polite, so the Secretary of Defense needs a lot of patience and self-control to successfully maintain good public and private relationships with members of Congress.

What should the American people expect from the Secretary of Defense?

The Secretary of State should be someone who can advocate for the interests of the military and civilian personnel within the department and request from the President and Congress the resources needed to carry out the mission and provide for the well-being of the personnel, who are, after all, Americans.

I would also say that the way the secretary of state interacts with the media should strike the right balance between informing the American public about what the Department of Defense and the military are doing in the name of the American people and protecting national security secrets. At the end of the day, the Secretary of Defense works for the benefit of the American people and the country.

This story is part of a series of profiles on cabinet and senior executive positions.