Trump’s nominee for under secretary of the Army, Michael Obadal, retired from a career in the Army in 2023, then spent the past two years working for Anduril, the ascendant arms maker with billions of dollars in Army contracts.

If confirmed to the Pentagon post — often described as the “chief operating officer” position at the largest branch of the U.S. military — Obadal plans to keep his stock in Anduril, according to an ethics disclosure reviewed by The Intercept.

“This is unheard of for a presidential appointee in the Defense Department to retain a financial interest in a defense contractor,” said Richard Painter, the top White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration. Painter said that while the arrangement may not be illegal, it certainly creates the appearance of a conflict of interest. Under the norms of prior administrations, Painter said, “nobody at upper echelons of the Pentagon would be getting anywhere near contracts if he’s sitting on a pile of defense contractor stock.”

Obadal has been a senior director at Anduril since 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile, following a nearly 30-year career in the U.S. Army. While the revolving door between the Pentagon and defense industry is as old as both of those institutions, federal law and ethical norms require employees of the executive branch to unload financial interests and relationships that might create a conflict of interest in the course of their duties.

Obadal’s April 11 financial disclosure letter, filed with the Office of Government Ethics, states “Upon confirmation, I will resign from my position as Senior Director at Anduril Industries” and forfeit his right to unvested stock options. But crucially, Obadal says he will retain his restricted stock units that have already vested — i.e., Anduril stock he already owns. That means he will continue to own a piece of the company, whose valuation has

© The Intercept