John Rood, undersecretary of defense for policy, will step down from his post at the Department of Defense on Feb. 28, CNN reported Wednesday. President Trump confirmed Rood’s resignation in a tweet posted Wednesday. Sources told the publication Rood’s departure stems from several issues, including the handling of military aid to Ukraine.
"I would like to thank John Rood for his service to the Department," Defense Secretary and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper said in a statement Wednesday. "John has played a critical role on a wide range of DoD issues including modernizing our nuclear deterrence capability, efforts to increase burden sharing by our NATO allies, our Missile Defense Review and implementing the National Defense Strategy. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors."
Rood assumed his current role in January 2018. He has two decades of government experience at the departments of State, Defense, CIA and the National Security Council and held senior leadership roles at Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
Alyssa Farah, DoD press secretary, said in a statement James Anderson, who currently performs the duties of deputy defense undersecretary for policy, will take over Rood’s responsibilities until a permanent successor is named and confirmed.
