(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 16, 2019, Acting US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, nominee to be Secretary of Defense, testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. – The US Senate on July 23, 2019, confirmed Esper as the next secretary of defense, nearly seven months after the surprise resignation of Jim Mattis over policy differences with President Donald Trump. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
