2 December 2014, 21:04 GMT
WASHINGTON, December 4 (Sputnik) – US President Barack Obama will announce next US Secretary of Defense on Friday morning, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said on Thursday.
"Tomorrow morning here at the White House the President [Obama] will host an event to announce his nominee to be next Secretary of Defense," Earnest told journalists during a press briefing.
Last week US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who has served as defense secretary since February 2013, announced his resignation.
The White House did not confirm whether former US Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is Obama's top nominee as the new defense secretary, despite various media reports of his nomination.
Carter served as deputy secretary of defense under Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel, who resigned from the Pentagon last week, but unlike his predecessors, does not have any military experience.
