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Trump\u2019s nominee for<\/span> 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.<\/p>\n If confirmed to the Pentagon post \u2014 often described as the \u201cchief operating officer\u201d position at the largest branch of the U.S. military \u2014 Obadal plans to keep his stock in Anduril, according to an ethics disclosure<\/a> reviewed by The Intercept.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is unheard of for a presidential\u00a0appointee in the Defense Department to retain a financial interest in a defense contractor,\u201d 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, \u201cnobody at upper echelons of the Pentagon would be getting anywhere near contracts if he\u2019s sitting on a pile of defense contractor stock.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a> between the Pentagon and defense industry<\/a> is as old <\/a>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.<\/p>\n Obadal\u2019s April 11 financial disclosure letter, filed with the Office of Government Ethics, states \u201cUpon confirmation, I will resign from my position as Senior Director at Anduril Industries\u201d and forfeit his right to unvested stock options. But crucially, Obadal says he will retain his restricted stock units that have already vested \u2014 i.e., Anduril stock he already owns. That means he will continue to own a piece of the company, whose valuation has reportedly<\/a> increased from $8.5 billion when Obadal joined to $28 billion today on the strength of its military contracts, and stands to materially benefit from anything that helps Anduril.<\/p>\n In his ethics letter, Obadal says he \u201cwill not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter that to my knowledge has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of Anduril Industries\u201d \u2014 unless he\u2019s given permission by his boss, the secretary of the Army.<\/p>\n Don Fox, former acting director of the Office of Government Ethics, told The Intercept Obadal\u2019s Anduril shares could pose a clear conflict of interest if he is confirmed. \u201cThe general reason an appointee would be allowed to maintain a potentially conflicting interest is because divestiture is either not possible or highly impractical.\u201d Anduril is privately held, meaning shares in the company can\u2019t be quickly disposed of on the stock market.<\/p>\n