Warren Demands Army Under Secretary Nominee Divest Stock Holdings in Anduril and Other Defense Contractors

Senator warns Michael Obadal that financial conflicts “will compromise your ability to serve with integrity, raising a cloud of suspicion over your contracting and operational decisions.”
Text of Letter (PDF)
Washington, D.C. —U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Mr. Michael Obadal, nominee for Under Secretary of the Army, with concerns about his refusal to divest from major defense contractors. Obadal will face lawmakers at his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 8, 2025.
If confirmed, Obadal will help manage the Army’s operations—consisting of a $186 billion budget, over 100,000 contracts a year, and over one million personnel. Obadal currently serves as a Senior Director at Anduril Industries, which wasrecently awardeda $22 billion contract to produce high-tech headsets for the Army. Obadal also holds between $250,000 and $500,000 in Anduril stock, which he has refused to divest from ahead of his confirmation. Anduril is also currentlyeyeingan initial public offering, and the company’s plan of going public would be boosted if it can secure more Pentagon contracts.
Even after divesting, Warren said Obadal should still recuse from specific-party matters involving Anduril.
“If you were to participate in a decision about an Anduril contract, your prior employment relationship with the company would lead the public to reasonably question whether you were more motivated to protect the company’s interests than the public interest,”said Senator Warren.
Obadal also holds stock in several other large defense contractors, including up to $15,000 in each of the following: General Dynamics, Eli Lilly, Thermo Fischer Scientific, and Cummins, Inc.
“By attempting to serve in this role with conflicts of interest, you risk spending taxpayer dollars on wasteful DoD contracts that enrich wealthy contractors but fail to enhance Americans’ national security,”said Senator Warren.
To address his conflicts of interest, Senator Warren asked him to make five commitments:
Some DoD appointees have agreed to a cooling-off period before seeking compensation from defense contractors. For example, Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,recently committednot to work for major defense contractors after leaving government.
Relatedly, multiple former Biden appointees agreed to post-employment lobbying restrictions, includingDefense Secretary Lloyd Austin,IRS Chief Counsel Marjorie Rollinson, andTreasury Assistant Secretary for Investment Security Paul Rosen.
Senator Warren asked Obadal to make these ethics commitments in writing by May 9, 2025.
Senator Warren has sought to protect servicemembers and national security by pushing defense nominees to resolve their conflicts of interest:
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