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Biden Administration International Affairs Personnel Tracker
Carlos del Toro
Secretary of the Navy
Secretary Del Toro was confirmed as the 78th Secretary of the Navy on August 9, 2021. Born in Havana and raised in Manhattan, Del Toro graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983. He also received masters’ degrees in space systems engineering, national security and strategic studies, and legislative affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School, the Naval War College, and The George Washington University, respectively.
Del Toro served as a naval officer for 22 years where he rose to the rank of First Commanding Officer of the USS Bulkeley during Operation Desert Storm before serving as the Assistant to the Deputy Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation at the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2001-2004. After retiring from the Navy in 2004, Del Toro founded SBG Technology Solutions, an IT and logistics firm specializing in fulfilling the needs of government clients such as the U.S. Navy, which he ran until his nomination by President Biden in 2021.
On China
Secretary Del Toro has signalled his near-singular focus and strong resolve to confront the “China threat” in an era where naval affairs in the Asia-Pacific will likely fall at the forefront of any great power competition. At his confirmation hearing, Secretary Del Toro warned the Senate that China could outpace the U.S. in naval power if no Congressional investment is made and issued the following remarks on his strategy:
…if confirmed to the Navy, I am going to be exclusively focused on the China threat and exclusively focused in moving our maritime strategy forward in order to protect Taiwan and all of our national security interests in the Indo-Pacific theater.
Media Commentary & Public Perceptions
Page Last Updated: August 12, 2021
*None of the personnel in this tracker are associated with the Institute for China-America Studies. All images used on this page are sourced from the official Biden-Harris transition website buildbackbetter.gov or the public domain.*
