The Pentagon has told the White House to stop politicizing the military, amid a furor over a Trump administration order to have the Navy ship named for the late U.S. Sen. John McCain hidden from view during President Donald Trump's recent visit to Japan.
Trump's top aide scoffed at the idea that anyone working for the White House might be punished.
Shanahan confirmed details about a Navy email that said the White House military office wanted the USS John McCain kept "out of sight" when Trump was in Japan about a week ago.
Trump's acting chief of staff, in appearances on two Sunday news shows in the U.S., said he did not expect anyone working for the White House to face discipline.
According to Shanahan spokesman Lt. Col. Joseph Buccino, Shanahan told his chief of staff on Friday to speak with the White House military office "and reaffirm his mandate that the department of defense will not be politicized."
Asked directly if members of his senior staff were aware of the White House request before the president's visit, Shanahan said he's been told they did not know.
The warship , commissioned in 1994, was originally named for the senator's father and grandfather, both Navy admirals named John Sidney McCain. »