Eric Kenneth Fanning (born July 2, 1968) is an American public servant who is the current President and CEO of Aerospace Industries Association and served as the 22nd Secretary of the Army, holding office from May 18, 2016 to January 20, 2017. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of the Army, Fanning was the 24th United States Under Secretary of the Air Force. He was the first openly gay head of any service in the US military.
Fanning spent the first 25 years of his career in a wide variety of roles, working in Congress, at the Department of Defense, in the White House, and as a consultant before eventually returning to the Pentagon. He is notable as being the only person to have held senior civilian appointments in the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during his career.[1]
He served as deputy undersecretary and deputy chief management officer for the Department of the Navy beginning in July 2009. He was also deputy director of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism.[6]
Fanning was appointed Acting Under Secretary of the Army and Chief Management Officer by President Obama on June 30, 2015. On September 18, 2015, the White House announced that President Barack Obama would nominate Fanning as Secretary of the Army,[12] and the President did so on November 3, 2015.[13] Fanning left that position on January 11, 2016, to concentrate on his confirmation, being succeeded in the temporary position by Patrick Murphy. The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee held Fanning's nomination hearing on January 21, 2016,[14] and approved his nomination on a voice vote on March 10, 2016,[15] though a hold was placed by Senator Pat Roberts, citing comments President Obama had made about closing the Guantanamo Bay prison.[16] Senators John McCain, chair of the Armed Services Committee, and Roberts argued about the nomination in the Senate in late April 2016.[17] McCain said: "What we're doing here is we're telling a nominee, who is totally qualified, totally, eminently qualified for the job, that that person cannot fulfill those responsibilities and take on that very important leadership post because of an unrelated issue. That is not the appropriate use of senatorial privilege."[18]
On May 17 Roberts told the Senate that he had received sufficient assurances from the Pentagon about Guantanamo and said: "My issue has never been with Mr. Fanning's character, his courage, or his capability. He will be a tremendous leader."[19] The United States Senate confirmed Fanning's nomination that day on a unanimous voice vote.[20] Fanning became the 22nd Secretary of the Army, the largest service branch of the U.S. military, and the first openly gay head of any service in the U.S. military.[21] Following Senate approval, Fanning thanked his now-husband Benjamin (Ben) Masri-Cohen for his "patience at home" during the confirmation process.[22]
With his appointment, he became the highest ranking openly gay member of the Department of Defense.[4] He was a member of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund from 2004 to 2007. He favors the adoption by the U.S. military of a policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He has said: "I personally like to see these things in writing and codified." He expressed a preference for the establishment of such a policy by the Department of Defense rather than the Obama administration: "My view about government is you should always use those resources that are available to you first before you move up to the next level, so I think there are a number of things we can do inside this building for the Department of Defense". He also supports allowing openly transgender persons to serve in the military.[5]
In July 2016, Fanning served as the grand marshal of the San Diego Pride parade.[23]
In 2017, the Aerospace Industries Association selected Fanning to become its next President and CEO, succeeding former U.S. Army Lt. General David Melcher in that role.[1] He began his tenure on January 1, 2018.
Fanning and National Gallery of Art budget analyst Ben Masri-Cohen were privately married by Senator Cory Booker on December 19, 2018; days thereafter the couple held a New Year's Eve wedding celebration.[24]
