Pentagon Chief May Have to Steer Clear of $10 Billion Contractor
- General Dynamics board post may haunt Trump’s defense choice
- Company is up for billions for nuclear subs, destroyers
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Retired Marine General James Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, may have to recuse himself for at least a year from decisions involving General Dynamics Corp. -- the fifth-biggest U.S. defense supplier last year -- after serving on its board.
That would take Mattis out of the loop on billion-dollar decisions across the military services: The Pentagon may buy ground-warfare vehicles from General Dynamics for the 65,000 Army troops Trump has promised to add, and it may benefit from his pledge to expand the Navy to 350 vessels by supplying its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Virginia-class nuclear submarines.