President Joe Biden announced Friday that he will nominate Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the US Navy, making her the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Franchetti will bring 38 years of dedicated service to our nation as a commissioned officer, including her current role as deputy chief of naval operations,” Biden said in a statement.
“It’s the second woman to achieve the rank of four-star admiral in the United States Navy and, when confirmed, she will once again make history as the first to hold the position of Chief of Naval Operations and of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” he added.
Franchetti has seen service on a number of surface ships.
She was deputy commander of the US naval forces in Europe and also in Africa, and deputy chief of Naval Operations for the development of the war fight. In September 2022, she became deputy chief of naval operations.
Admiral Mike Gilday will finish his four-year tenure at the helm of the Navy next month, but it is not clear if Franchetti will be confirmed by the Senate in time.
Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville has halted more than 200 senior military appointments in protest of the Pentagon’s decision to help troops who have to travel for abortions or other reproductive health services that are not available where they are stationed.
Biden took aim at Tuberville in the statement, saying delaying approval of nominees “is not only wrong, it’s dangerous.”
