Person of Interest

Will Gates Stay at Defense?

Complications are arising in Obama's plan to retain him.

Conventional wisdom has been that Barack Obama will retain Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense, but, buried in a Washington Post story about Gates' transition, is an "outside expert close to the Obama transition team" saying that "the shine is off" the idea of retaining Gates." According to the Post, "drawbacks are emerging over keeping Gates in place for any significant period"—namely, will Gates want to stay on even if Obama replaces much of his staff with Democrats? One scenario has Gates' staying on for a short initial period, while Richard J. Danzig, an Obama adviser and former Navy secretary, prepares to take over as Defense secretary.