(VOVworld) – The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to confirm Ashton Carter as President Barack Obama’s next Secretary of Defense.

Ashton Carter in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2015 (Photo: AFP)

Carter, 60, who was approved in a 93-5 vote, served as Deputy Defense Secretary from 2011 to 2013 and previously was the Defense Department’s chief weapons buyer. Carter was officially nominated by Obama for the position of US Defense Secretary on December 5 after Chuck Hagel submitted his resignation letter. 
At his confirmation hearing on February 4, Carter underscored his determination to boost the US defense budget, drive down the cost of new weapons, and make sure new technologies are delivered more quickly to troops.
He told lawmakers he was leaning in favor of providing arms to Ukraine but later said that the focus of the international community’s efforts must remain on pressuring Russia economically and politically.