The White House has chosen retired submariner Brent Sadler to lead the U.S. Maritime Administration, according to a Congressional notification.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology – which oversees the Department of Transportation – received Sadler’s nomination on Monday. The Maritime Administration sits under the Department of Transportation, which falls under the oversight purview of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Sadler, a retired U.S. Navy captain, is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He did several Navy tours in the Indo-Pacific while on active duty, according to his bio on the Heritage website.
If confirmed, Sadler will take the helm of the Maritime Administration – which oversees the U.S. Merchant Marine – as the U.S. faces ongoing challenges recruiting and retaining civilian mariners.
Sadler’s nomination comes as the Trump administration weighs a major overhaul to the U.S. maritime industry. Earlier this month, the White House created a maritime industrial base office within the National Security Council. A draft executive order circulating earlier this month showed that the Trump administration is considering a government-wide overhaul to the U.S. commercial and military maritime industries to keep pace with China’s shipbuilding capability, USNI News recently reported.
A provision in the draft EO would call on the head of MARAD to work with the defense secretary and the White House national security advisor to send lawmakers a legislative proposal creating a program for a “strategic commercial fleet,” according to the document. The officials would have two months to send lawmakers the proposal.
“The proposal to deliver these vessels shall include coverage of certain construction or operational costs of each registered vessel,” the draft EO reads. “The purpose of this program is to ensure adequate cubed footage of U.S.-flagged commercial vessels that can be called upon in times of crisis.”
