David McCormick, president of hedge fund behemoth Bridgewater Associates, is the leading contender to be deputy secretary of defense, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the deliberations.
McCormick, a former Army Ranger and West Point graduate, has now met with President-elect Donald Trump twice and had a “very positive” meeting with James Mattis, the retired Marine general Trump selected to run the Pentagon, the sources said.
A final selection has not been made and there are other candidates who have met with Mattis in recent days, one source cautioned.
Trump originally interviewed McCormick as a potential Treasury secretary candidate — a position that ended up going to Trump loyalist and fellow financier Steve Mnuchin. But Trump and his senior advisers were impressed with McCormick’s interview and resume and have been mulling potential top-tier slots for him in the administration, one source said.
McCormick served in several senior posts in President George W. Bush’s administration, including as the Treasury Department’s undersecretary of international affairs. McCormick also served as a CEO of a software company before his time in government.