Former Ridley Park Township Councilman Kenneth K.J. Braithwaite was confirmed by the U.S. Senate Thursday as the new Secretary of the Navy, writes Joe Gould and Leo Shane III for defensenews.com.

Braithwaite, a former ambassador to Norway, was a Ridley Park councilman in the 1990s and was the state director from 1997 to 2000 for Sen. Arlen Specter.

The retired rear admiral replaces acting Navy Secretary James E. McPherson, who took the position in April 2020.

McPherson replaced acting Secretary Thom Modly who resigned over the firing of the commander of the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt over his public complaints about COVID-19 on board his ship.

Modly replaced Navy Secretary Rchard V. Spencer who was forced out in a fight with the White House over the handling of a legal case against a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes.

Braithwaite has promised to restore faith in the U.S. Navy leadership post.

“It saddens me to say the Department of the Navy is in troubled waters due to many factors, primarily the failings of leadership,” he said. “[The controversies] are all indicative of a breakdown in the trust of those leading the service.”

Read more about his confirmation here.

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