By Justin Peligri, CNN
(CNN) — President Barack Obama will announce his pick for Secretary of Defense on Friday morning, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday afternoon during the daily White House briefing.
Obama is slated to nominate Ashton Carter, former second in command at the Pentagon, as CNN has previously reported.
Pending confirmation in the Senate, Carter will succeed outgoing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who announced his resignation last week. Hagel has said he will stay on board until a successor is confirmed.
Carter served as Deputy Defense Secretary under both Hagel and Obama’s first Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. He’d be the fourth secretary of defense of Obama’s six-year tenure including Robert Gates, a hold-over from President George W. Bush.
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