Dr. Plumb’s major role at the Department of Defense would be assisting Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks with high-level issues. Although Dr. Plumb’s views on China have not been made public, given Dr. Hicks’ rich background related to China and the Indo-Pacific region, Dr. Plumb will be an important figure for overseeing many of the security issues related to U.S.-China policies. On February 26, Dr. Plumb retweeted Dr. Hicks, indicating that the top issue over her first weeks will be “advancing the capabilities needed to deter, and if needed, to compete and win in the face of Chinese military modernization”. Dr. Plumb’s retweet called the matter as “critical national security issues.” As the Department of Defense officially launched the China Task Force in March, a great degree of Dr. Plumb’s work will involve reassessing force posture, policymaking, and inter-departmental communication addressing the China issues.