Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli occupation forces issue a new bombing threat against civilian buildings in the Southern Lebanese towns of Borj Qalaouiye and Chehabiyeh.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Extending the snapback mechanism deadline will test how independent Europeans truly are from the US.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Activating the snapback mechanism will nullify the Cairo Agreement, shut the door on cooperation between the IAEA and Tehran, and bar inspections.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: The diplomatic window remains open, but signs of activating the snapback sanctions mechanism on Iran are increasing.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: Although the Cairo Agreement meets an important part of European demands, they have begun speaking of new conditions in recent communications.
Sources to Al Mayadeen: European countries show no independence in their stance toward Iran during the talks.
Israeli occupation forces issued bombing threats to bomb civilian buildings in Southern Lebanon.
Israeli media: Person behind shooting operation at Allenby Crossing is a Jordanian Army soldier.
Israeli media citing Emergency Services: Both wounded in Allenby shooting operation now dead.
Israeli media: One soldier wounded at Allenby crossing now confirmed killed.

US Sen. Warren to Trump’s army pick: Divest or risk ethics scandal

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Intercept
  • 8 May 2025 21:19
4 Min Read

Senator Elizabeth Warren is urging the divestment of Trump’s Army nominee Michael Obadal from defense contractor Anduril and other military-linked stocks.

Listen
  • x
  • Sen. Warren urges Trump appointee to divest Anduril stock
    US Senator Elizabeth Warren questions Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on March 16, 2023 (AP)

US Senator Elizabeth Warren is urging President Trump's nominee for Under Secretary of the Army to sell his ownership in a defense contractor, which experts say would constitute a blatant conflict of interest.

Michael Obadal, nominated for the Army’s second-highest civilian position, disclosed in a federal ethics agreement obtained by The Intercept that he owns between $250,000 and $500,000 in shares of Anduril Industries, where he has served as an executive for the past two years. Despite long-standing ethical norms, Obadal has stated he will not sell his stake.

In a letter sent to The Intercept ahead of Obadal’s Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, Warren (D-Mass.) urged him to sever ties with Anduril, describing the situation as a “textbook conflict of interest."

Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, argued that Obadal's stock holdings "will compromise your ability to serve with integrity, raising a cloud of suspicion over your contracting and operational decision."

"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," according to Warren.

Financial disclosures reveal deeper ties to defense industry

Related News

White House drafts order on political violence after Kirk killing

US removes Syria envoys as Kurds face pressure to join Damascus

According to a more extensive financial disclosure form acquired by The Intercept, Anduril represents only a portion of Obadal's military interests. The form indicates that Obadal's retirement investment account includes shares in both General Dynamics, which conducts billions of dollars of business with the Army, and Howmet Aerospace, a smaller company. 

While candidates are not required to disclose the exact amount of their interests, Obadal claims his stakes in General Dynamics and Howmet are valued between $2,000 and $30,000.

Don Fox, former acting director of the United States Office of Government Ethics, told The Intercept that neither stock should be excluded from conflict of interest rules under federal law. "The fact that they are within either a traditional or Roth IRA doesn't impact the conflict of interest analysis," he stated, adding that he was "not sure why he would be allowed to keep those."

"A DoD contractor is a DoD contractor," Fox asserted, adding, "The degree of their business with DoD or what they do isn’t material. A lot of people were surprised for example that Disney was/is a DoD contractor. For a Senate confirmation position, they would have had to divest.”

Commitments needed to increase Americans' trust 

Obadal has stock in other companies that do business with the Pentagon, such as Microsoft, Amazon, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Cummins, which makes diesel engines for the Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle. None of these firms appear in Obadal's ethics letter, which specifies which assets he will and will not dispose of if confirmed.

In his more extensive disclosure paperwork, known as a Form 278, Obadal specifically states that he will be able to exercise his shares in Anduril "if there is an equity event such as the sale of the company, or the company becoming a publicly-traded entity," which might result in a substantial payout. Private investors reportedly valued Anduril at more than $28 billion.

In addition to divesting from Anduril, Warren's letter requests that Obadal sell his stock in these other companies, commit to recusing himself entirely from any Anduril-related matters at the Army, and pledge to avoid working for or lobbying on behalf of the defense sector for four years after leaving the Department of Defense.

"By making these commitments, you would increase Americans' trust in your ability to serve the public interest during your time at the Army," the senator stated, "rather than the special interests of large DoD contractors."

  • The intercept
  • Elizabeth Warren
  • Donald Trump
  • United States
  • Anduril

Most Read

Why is Choose Love using a firm with British and US intelligence connections to run a pro-Palestine musical event? (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Together for Palestine: Troubling questions about the organisers of this huge event

  • Opinion
  • 17 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS