President Biden has nominated Sasha Baker to serve as the Department of Defense’s deputy under secretary of defense for policy, the White House announced.
Currently, Baker serves as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning at the National Security Council (NSC). During the Obama administration, Baker served as deputy chief of staff for Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.
Baker also served as national security advisor for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Additionally, the New Jersey native was a budget analyst at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and joined the civil service as a presidential management fellow, serving in the Homeland Security and National Security divisions and later as special assistant to the OMB director.
When Baker was selected for her current role at the NSC, Sen. Warren was quick to endorse Baker as an “excellent choice.”
“Sasha Baker has been by my side in Iraq, Afghanistan, China, and the DMZ [Korean Demilitarized Zone]. She understands that our national security can’t solely be run by the Pentagon for the wealthy and well-connected. She’s an excellent choice for director of strategic planning at the NSC,” Warren said in a tweet.
