Obama has nominated the first openly gay Army secretary

Eric Fanning
(Image credit: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama nominated Eric Fanning to be secretary of the Army on Friday. If confirmed by the Senate, he'll be the first openly gay secretary of a military branch, The New York Times reports.

Fanning has served as Defense Secretary Ash Carter's chief of staff and acting under secretary of the Army as the current secretary, John McHugh, plans to leave office. He also has experience in civilian roles in the Navy and Air Force.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.