secretary of defense

Cultural  

1. The civilian head of the United States Department of Defense and a member of the cabinet, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The secretary of defense works with civilian and military advisers to formulate American military policies and make foreign policy recommendations to the president.

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secretary of defense

And an executive order signed by President Barack Obama in 2012 delegated this authority to the secretary of defense.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

Federal statutes require the secretary of defense, or secretary of one of the services, to jump through various hoops in order to delay the promotion of an officer.

From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026

Her former colleague Pete Hegseth, now secretary of defense, sold more than 300,000 copies of his last two books, both of which were military grievance memoirs.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2026

Cerberus’s former co-chief executive, Stephen Feinberg, left the firm last year to become the Trump administration’s deputy secretary of defense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 20, 2026

General Russell also decided to call an assistant secretary of defense, just to get the Pentagon notified.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston