President Joe Biden on Friday announced his intent to nominate Deborah Rosenblum to be assistant secretary for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense at the Department of Defense.
The nuclear, chemical, and biological defense program, currently led on an acting basis by Brandi Vann, is charged with detecting, defending against and responding to threats posed by weapons of mass destruction.
In the same announcement, Biden said he intends to nominate Shawn Skelly for assistant secretary for readiness at the Department of Defense (DoD). The position is held on an acting basis by Thomas Constable. The assistant secretary for readiness serves as chief staff adviser to the Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, and the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
Rosenblum is the executive vice president of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, where she helps manage the non-profit organization’s threat reduction programs, according to a White House release.
Before joining the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Rosenblum was a vice president with The Cohen Group consulting firm. She also spent 12 years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including as a member of the Senior Executive Service. Rosenblum has represented the United States in bilateral nuclear-related talks with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. She has worked on counter-proliferation policy, countering narcotics, homeland defense, and peacekeeping operations.
Skelly served on active duty in the U.S. Navy for 20 years as a Naval Flight Officer, retiring with the rank of commander and is the co-founder of a non-profit called Out in National Security.
Neither nomination was actually sent from the White to the Senate at press time.
