US President Donald Trump has nominated Mark Esper to be the Secretary of Defense, the White House has said.
Esper replaces Patrick Shanahan, who led the military in an acting capacity but this week withdrew his name from consideration for a permanent role after allegations of domestic violence.
It has been six months without a permanent defence secretary - three times longer than ever before - even as the country deals with the growing tensions with Iran.
Al Jazeera's Heidi Zhou-Castro reports.
