David Trachtenberg

{{Short description|American security advisor}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = David Trachtenberg

|image = David J. Trachtenberg.jpg

|office = Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

|president = Donald Trump

|status = Acting

|term_start = October 27, 2017

|term_end = January 8, 2018

|predecessor = Robert Karem (Acting)

|successor = John Rood

|office1 = Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

|president1 = Donald Trump

|term_start1 = October 27, 2017

|term_end1 = July 19, 2019

|predecessor1 = Brian P. McKeon

|successor1 = James H. Anderson (Acting)

|office2 = Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy

|president2 = George W. Bush

|term_start2 = 2001

|term_end2 = 2003

|predecessor2 =

|successor2 =

|birth_name =

|birth_date =

|birth_place =

|death_date =

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|party =

|spouse =

|children =

|education = University of Southern California
Georgetown University

|awards = Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service (2003)

}}

David Joel Trachtenberg is an American national security advisor who served as principal deputy under secretary for policy in the United States Department of Defense. He was previously the head of U.S. national security consulting firm Shortwaver. On March 17, 2017, he was announced as President Donald Trump's nominee to become principal deputy under secretary for policy in the Department of Defense.{{cite news|last1=Freedberg Jr.|first1=Sydney|last2=Clark|first2=Colin|title=Trump Picks Technocrats, Not Billionaires, For Top Pentagon Posts|url=http://breakingdefense.com/2017/03/trump-picks-technocrats-not-billionaires-for-top-pentagon-posts/|accessdate=May 1, 2017|publisher=Breaking Defense|date=March 16, 2017}} This nomination was confirmed by a 79–17 vote of the U.S. Senate on October 17, 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/115th-congress/362|title=PN362 — David Joel Trachtenberg — Department of Defense|date=October 17, 2017|website=U.S. Congress|accessdate=October 18, 2017}}

Trachtenberg previously served as vice president and head of the strategic analysis division of CACI International Inc., the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, and as a senior staff member on the United States House Committee on Armed Services.{{cite news|title=President Announces Picks for Senior Pentagon Posts|url=http://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/News/Article/Article/1120965/president-announces-picks-for-senior-pentagon-posts/|access-date=May 1, 2017|publisher=United States Department of Defense}}{{cite news|last1=Mehta|first1=Aaron|title=Boeing exec, Russia cynic among Trump's picks for top DoD posts|url=http://www.defensenews.com/articles/boeing-exec-russia-cynic-among-trumps-picks-for-top-dod-posts|accessdate=May 1, 2017|publisher=Defense News|date=March 16, 2017}}

In mid-July 2019, it was announced that Trachtenburg would resign on July 19, 2019.[https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2019/07/19/david-trachtenberg-number-two-policy-official-exits-pentagon/ David Trachtenberg, No. 2 policy official, exits Pentagon], Aaron Mehta, Defense News, July 20, 2019