Back in late 2016 Donald Trump picked Stephen Feinberg - a well-known wall street billionaire for the number-two spot at Pentagon (which shows his preference for business-minded leadership)
The private-equity mogul who has deep ties to military contractors got an unexpected offer for deputy defense secretary position; his spokesman didnt confirm whether the position was accepted. The timing of this choice came during Trumps transition to white-house
Feinberg - a long-time supporter of the republican party maintains significant investment portfolio that includes defense-sector companies which have on-going contracts with Pentagon: this creates an interesting dynamic for the potential appointment. The wall-street veterans business connections raised some eye-brows among defense-policy experts
The non-public nature of this high-level appointment shows trumps behind-the-scenes approach to filling top government spots. Multiple sources (who stayed unnamed due to private nature of discussions) confirmed the offer was made in the pre-inauguration period