He was the national policy director to Senator Fred Thompson for his 2008 presidential campaign, and was a Senate-appointed commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Dr. Esper served as the Secretary of the Army from Nov. 20, 2017, to June 24, 2019, and from July 15, 2019, to July 23, 2019. From September 2007 to February 2008, Esper served as national policy director to Senator President Trump announced his intention to nominate Esper as United States Secretary of the Army on June 19, 2017. After he was nominated to become Secretary of Defense, he said that being "transgender" is not an issue with him, stating that he has met several transgender servicemembers and was impressed with many of them. He later led an Airborne Rifle Company in Europe and served as an Army fellow at the Pentagon. As Raytheon’s top lobbyist, Esper had many tools of persuasion at his disposal, including $3.1 million in donations to candidates during the 2016 elections, spending $4.8 million on lobbying, and having Raytheon PAC make $1.5 million in donations to candidates for their support.
From 1998 to 2002, Esper served as a senior professional staffer for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. WASHINGTON – Signals that Defense Secretary Mark Esper's tenure at the Pentagon could be cut short have intensified after a long, hot summer of … Esper is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Esper has said that his operating positions as Secretary of Defense would be apolitical, in keeping with the National Defense Strategy formulated in 2018 by his predecessor On November 24, 2019, during a dispute regarding whether Navy SEAL http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/trump-nominating-uniontown-native-for-army-secretary/article_687d6178-43a7-51fd-bd32-95b1ea5efe4a.htmlhttp://investor.raytheon.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=84193&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1448598http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/top-lobbyists/258460-top-lobbyists-2015-corporatehttp://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/top-lobbyists/302782-top-lobbyists-2016-corporatehttps://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1141027595380826118https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-shanahan-idUSKCN1TJ2DKhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/mark-esper-secures-enough-senate-votes-to-be-defense-secretary-11563899034https://www.heraldstandard.com/new_today/uniontown-native-serves-country-as-secretary-of-the-army/article_4c2d2885-8cd0-54ed-820e-2e22d3fdf054.htmlhttps://www.heraldstandard.com/news/obituaries/thomas-joseph-esper/article_660d280f-61d9-5b41-b920-98f7205c166b.htmlhttp://triblive.com/news/fayette/4622699-74/highlands-laurel-medicalAmerican football linebacker, Pro Football Hall of Famer Published on 19.06.2019. Send in e-mail Send in e-mail. During his time at Raytheon, Esper was recognized as a top corporate lobbyist by Esper was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the son of Pauline "Polly" (Reagan) and Thomas Joseph Esper. Mark is fond of praising his wife for taking care of the family whenever he’s on a mission. Share in Twitter. Before joining the Department of Defense, Esper was vice president of government relations at Raytheon, a major U.S. defense contractor. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 after spending 10 years on active duty and 11 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve.After leaving active duty, he served as Chief of Staff at The Heritage Foundation think tank, followed by service as legislative director and senior policy advisor to former Senator Chuck Hagel.

He served as Acting Secretary of Defense from June 24, 2019, to July 15, 2019. He was also a senior policy advisor and legislative director for U.S. senator Esper was executive vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association in 2006 and 2007. The president wrote, “I know Mark, and have no doubt he … He received a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard in 1995 and a doctorate in public policy from George Washington University in 2008. Esper was chief of staff at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, from 1996 to 1998. His father was a member of the Maronite Church. He received a master's degree in public administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard in 1995 and a doctorate in public policy from George Washington University in 2008. Esper served on active duty for more than ten years before moving to the Army National Guard and later the Army Reserve, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He cited the United States Department of Defense's 2018 Report and Recommendations on Military Service by Transgender Persons, which claims that persons who have a history of gender dysphoria, who have undergone medical treatments for gender transition, or who are unable or unwilling to meet the military's standards associated with their biological sex, could hurt military readiness and effectiveness and should be evaluated to see whether they should be retained or expelled from service. Esper primarily left it up to local commanders in terms of how they would respond to the pandemic, which resulted in uneven responses. He previously served as acting secretary of defense and was the 23rd United States secretary of the Army from 2017 to 2019.

Mark Esper has been vice president for government relations at Raytheon, a major weapons contractor, since July 2010.

Upon completion of Ranger and Pathfinder training, he served in the 101st Airborne Division and participated in the 1990-91 Gulf War with the “Screaming Eagles.” He later commanded a Rifle Company in the 3-325 Airborne Battalion Combat Team in Vicenza, Italy. His battalion was part of the famous "left hook" that led to the defeat of the Iraqi Army. Esper is a recipient of the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. Share in Facebook.


He later led an Airborne Rifle Company in Europe and served as an Army fellow at the Pentagon.