President Donald Trump’s nominee for a top Pentagon acquisition post is set to face Senate scrutiny over his limited experience managing major weapons programs.
President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the second-highest official overseeing Pentagon acquisition appears to be an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve without high-level experience managing weapons purchases or the upkeep of military equipment.
Trump tapped Matt O’Malley in April to serve as deputy undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, a portfolio spanning several hundred billion dollars and military equipment on every continent. If confirmed by the Senate, he would become a key voice in procurement as the Defense Department moves forward with modernization plans for everything from nuclear weapons to IT systems in preparation for a possible conflict with China.
On Thursday, O’Malley will face public questions for the first time about how he’d handle those responsibilities. The Senate Armed Services Committee will vet him and three other nominees for senior defense positions at a hearing on Capitol Hill.
Spokespeople for the White House, DoD and Senate Armed Services Committee did not respond to emailed questions about O’Malley’s nomination on Wednesday.
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O’Malley met with at least one member of the Senate Armed Services Committee ahead of his nomination hearing. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) posted a photo with the nominee to social media earlier this month, noting their discussion followed a visit by Michael Duffey, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, to North Dakota the previous week.
“This position plays an important role in modernizing the Pentagon’s acquisition system, focusing on new entrants to the defense industrial base, and accelerating the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to our warfighters,” Cramer wrote. A spokesperson for Cramer did not respond to questions on the visit by press time.
Though sparse, O’Malley’s digital footprint sheds some light on what he might bring to DoD’s acquisition enterprise in the midst of a major shakeup aimed at delivering new technology to troops faster. He describes himself on LinkedIn as a “results-driven leader … adept at leading cross-functional teams, optimizing enterprise systems, and transforming data-driven strategies into actionable insights.”
O’Malley served for nearly 11 years as chief operating officer of Looking Glass Investments, a Milwaukee-based lender that uses predictive analytics to “select superior investment opportunities,” according to LinkedIn.
The firm sold its assets to ARCSys Technologies, a financial technology company, in March, O’Malley said in federal ethics paperwork filed May 1. He retains an equity interest in Looking Glass, which owns 1% of ARCSys, and said he would resign from his role with the investment firm.
O’Malley acknowledged he will be recused from all matters that directly affect his financial interests in the financial and accounting software industry. He did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The nominee most recently worked in clinical informatics — the practice of managing data in medical settings — at the Department of Veterans Affairs, but departed the position after about a year in June 2025, according to LinkedIn.
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Other roles include stints as an executive officer at U.S. Special Operations Command in Iraq; a procurement manager at a Milwaukee-based media company; a financial analyst at Lockheed Martin; and the Air Force comptroller’s director of strategic initiatives. O’Malley has served in the Navy Reserve since 2002, according to LinkedIn.
In 2024, O’Malley publicly endorsed Trump for reelection in an open letter signed by dozens of former national security and foreign policy officials, Gold Star family members and others that was published online by conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt.
Also slated to appear before the committee Thursday is Jay Hurst, who has performed the duties of Pentagon comptroller since August. Hurst is an Army Reservist and former legislative director for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) who has also stood in as assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs, as well as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
Roger Mason, a space executive and a former assistant director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama, is tapped to run the National Reconnaissance Office. He would depart as the chief growth officer at V2X to lead the secretive intelligence agency that works closely with the Space Force to build and operate spy satellites.
And Erich Hernandez-Baquero, Raytheon’s vice president for space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, is nominated to become the Department of the Air Force’s space acquisition boss. He would be the second person to hold that role since its creation, managing a massive portfolio of largely classified satellites, radars and sensors that connect the armed forces and provide targeting and intelligence data.
The hearing is a step toward filling myriad national security positions that lack Senate-confirmed officials more than a year into the second Trump administration.
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Trump’s pick for defense acquisition deputy lacks traditional resume – Federal News Network
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