Trump withdraws nomination of Air Force veteran to oversee special operations forces

President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of retired Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Jensen to be assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, according to a notice posted on Congress.gov.

The notice did not provide an explanation for the move, which occurred May 12.

White House spokespeople did not respond to DefenseScoop’s questions about the decision to withdraw the nomination.

Last month, CBS News reported that Jensen was being considered for another position with the White House National Security Council.

The official who holds the ASD SO/LIC job “oversees and advocates for Special Operations and Irregular Warfare throughout the Department of Defense to ensure these capabilities are resourced, ready, and properly employed in accordance with the National Defense Strategy,” according to a Defense Department description of the position.

They’re responsible for exercising “authority, direction, and control of all special operations peculiar issues relating to the organization, training, and equipping of special operations forces,” as well as advising the undersecretary of defense for policy on special ops and irregular warfare policy issues.

Jensen held leadership positions in the SOF community during his military career. Some of his most notable duty assignments included 26th Special Tactics Squadron commander and deputy commander of the 724th Special Tactics Group, which are part of Air Force Special Operations Command.

He also served as a strategy lead in the Air Force’s Checkmate office at the Pentagon.

Trump tapped Jensen for the ASD SO/LIC role in February, but the Senate Armed Services Committee didn’t hold a confirmation hearing for him before the nomination was withdrawn this week.

The duties of ASD SO/LIC are currently being performed by Colby Jenkins, an Army Special Forces veteran. Christopher Maier held that role in a Senate-confirmed capacity during the Biden administration.

At the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida, earlier this month, Jenkins said the special ops community needs “multidomain” formations that can wage high-tech warfare using AI, cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, among other tools, according to a Defense Department news release.

“The future of SOF is relentless: smaller teams, faster decisions, smarter systems [and] harder targets,” Jenkins said.

He noted that commandos’ know-how and human performance on the battlefield will also be critical.

“Because in the end, it is not the weapon, the drone, or the system that wins the contest. It is the person who knows when and how to use all of that technology and who refuses to quit; that person secures victory for us,” Jenkins said, according to the release.

In February, U.S. Special Operations Command published an updated strategy called “SOF Renaissance,” that lays out SOCOM’s vision for how the force needs to transform to meet future challenges by adopting new technologies and other reforms, including modernization efforts geared toward surface and subsurface maritime platforms; next-generation intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; mission command systems; and collaborative and autonomous unmanned systems.