As of this week, 36 of the 65 War Department positions requiring Senate confirmation have yet to be filled.

Some of President Trump's nominees for these jobs have been referred to committee in the Senate; some have had their hearings but have not been voted out of committee; some have been voted out but have yet to get a floor vote.

Other positions have not been filled at all. In a few instances, nominees have been withdrawn. That is the case regarding Jeffrey Bornstein, whose nomination for Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer the White House withdrew ten days ago.

Why Bornstein’s name was withdrawn remains a mystery, reportedly even to the man himself. He was certainly well qualified. He is a managing director of a private equity investment firm and previously had been chief financial officer of General Electric. He not only has a long standing relationship with Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg — a relationship that is critical to the success of any comptroller — but also is reported to have had a good meeting with President Trump, who then nominated him.

But more than ten months since Trump took the oath of office, the War Department still does not have a comptroller, nor for that matter, a deputy under........

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