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When is Kenneth Braithwaite going to be confirm by the senate and also sworn in as the next secretary of the navy? Suchi Sobel (talk) 00:08, 14 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Suchi Sobel: He was sworn in 29 May 2020 and served until the end of the adminstation's term 20 January 2021. - wolf 01:56, 21 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I have suggested updates and improvements for this page. I have a conflict of interest as a consultant for WhiteHatWiki, hired by the subject of this article. I am submitting a proposal here, as instructed by Wikipedia FAQs and WP:PAID.

1. In the “Early life and education” section, please move the third paragraph to become the new second paragraph of the Business career section:

From 1993 to 1996, Braithwaite was town councilman for the borough of Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.^[1] He later became a top advisor for former U.S. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2000, serving as his state director.^[2]

Why? This information is about Braithwaite’s post-military career, not his early life and education. Moving it to the appropriate section will help keep the page in chronological order.

2. In the “Business career” section, add a paragraph to become the new third paragraph:

In 2000, Braithwaite became vice president of advocacy and government relations for St. Thomas Health systems, serving in the role until 2002 when he became vice president public and government affairs for Ascension Health in Washington D.C.^[3] In 2007, he became a senior vice president of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, where he led the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council division.^[4] Braithwaite later became a group senior vice president at health care company Vizient.^[5]

Why? I’m requesting missing significant Career information about Brathwaite’s positions outside the military, with citations from The Philadelphia Inquirer to support the information.

3. In the “Donald Trump administration” section, please replace the second paragraph:

On November 24, 2019, after the firing of Richard V. Spencer, Trump said he would nominate Braithwaite to become the U.S. secretary of the Navy. He was formally nominated on March 2, 2020,^[6] confirmed by voice vote on May 21,^[7] and sworn in on May 29, 2020.^[8][9][10]

Replace with:

In November 2019, Trump announced he would nominate Braithwaite to become the U.S. Navy Secretary, following the forced resignation of Richard V. Spencer.^[11] Braithwaite testified during his May 2020 confirmation hearings that he would prioritize rebuilding trust in naval leadership following two fatal ship collisions in 2017 and an earlier bribery scandal.^[12] He was sworn in to office on May 29, 2020.^[13]

Why? The first sentence is unsourced. I’ve added a leading media source to confirm that Braithwaite was chosen after Spencer was forced to resign, changing the wording of the sentence to more closely match the source. I replaced the second sentence with one that gives information about his confirmation. I condensed the last sentence and replaced the primary source with a secondary source.

4. In the “Donald Trump administration” section, please add a paragraph beneath the existing second paragraph:

In November 2020, Braithwaite proposed reconstituting the First Fleet the United States Pacific Fleet, citing the need for an increased US Navy presence in the Indo-Pacific,^[14] and pointing to the rising threat of Chinese incursions into the region.^[15]

Why? As written, the section is missing information about Braithwaite’s activities as Secretary of the Navy. The proposed paragraph adds information based on reporting in reliable sources that cover the military and Indo-Pacific region.

5. In the “Donald Trump administration” section, please add a paragraph to become the new fourth paragraph:

In December 2020, as Secretary of the Navy, Braithwaite created the “Tri-Service” strategy to align maritime forces that included the Marines and Coast Guard and outlined a “more assertive posture” to deter military adventurism by Russia and China.^[16]

Why? As written, the section is missing information about Braithwaite’s activities as Secretary of the Navy. I’ve suggested adding information about a military strategy created under his tenure, based on reporting in a leading defense publication, Breaking Defense, which has been cited on Wikipedia over 500 times [1];

6. In the “Donald Trump administration” section, please add a paragraph to become the new fifth paragraph:

In January 2021, as Secretary of the Navy, Braithwaite led the creation of a strategy to protect marine resources and shipping routes in the Arctic by increasing the Navy’s presence in the region.^[17]

Why? As written, the section is missing information about Braithwaite’s activities as Secretary of the Navy. I’ve suggested adding information about a military strategy created by Braithwaite, as reported by The Barents Observer and other media outlets.

Thank you for reviewing these proposed updates. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 14:51, 14 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Done Encoded  Talk 💬 08:25, 10 June 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I have suggestions for ways to improve NPOV on this page. I have a conflict of interest as a consultant for WhiteHatWiki, hired by the subject of this article. I am submitting a proposal here, as instructed by Wikipedia FAQs and WP:PAID.

1. In the “Cambridge Analytica” subsection, please delete the first paragraph or, in the alternative, revise it and move it to become the second paragraph of the “Donald Trump administration” section.

From:

In January 2020, CBS News reported that Braithwaite may have had a business relationship with Cambridge Analytica before he became ambassador to Norway, as documents from the company showed that he had a one-year contract with the company beginning on November 1, 2016. Braithwaite denied having entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica, saying he only conducted short-lived discussions with the company, only informally provided advice, and that he only entered into a non-disclosure agreement. CBS News noted that he was still required to disclose those ties.^[1]

To:

In January 2020, CBS News reported that leaked documents “apparently” indicated that Braithwaite may have had a contractual relationship with Cambridge Analytica before he became ambassador to Norway. But Braithwaite said that while he had entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the company, it never resulted in any agreement, he never referred any business, never received any compensation and never was an employee. He said the State Department Legal Office of Ethics and Financial Disclosure concurred that he was not required to disclose the connection on a required government disclosure form when he was nominated to be ambassador to Norway. Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel for the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said he would have been required to disclose any employment or partnership agreements.^[1]

Why? There are a number of severe misrepresentations and omissions in this paragraph as it stands. 1) CBS did not “note that he was still required to disclose those ties.” A major news organization like CBS would never reach a definitive conclusion when a matter is hotly disputed. Instead, CBS quoted an advocacy organization as saying that if he had employment or partnership agreements then he would be required to disclose, but the story says Braithwaite says he only had an NDA, not an employment or partnership agreement, and that the State Department said he was therefore not required to disclose. Even the critic was careful to say the disclosure was only required if he actually had a partnership or employment agreement; 2) CBS was careful to say that leaked documents “indicated” he may have had a contractual relationship, from the first sentence placing cautionary language as to whether there really was a contractual relationship or whether the leaked documents were even genuine or undoctored. They never confirmed the possibility was true with any other source.

I would argue that this whole paragraph is an example of WP:NOTNEWS and the entire paragraph should be deleted. This was not deemed important enough to even come up at his Senate confirmation hearings (by either party. see: Politico). No other news organization independently reported on this allegation, even though the leaked documents were available on Twitter. (see:CBS News). And CBS placed all sorts of caveats in the story, suggesting further reporting was needed to confirm the veracity, but none ever came.

Finally, all of this is only important relative to the reporting that went on when Braithwaite was nominated to be Secretary of the Navy under the Trump administration. It was not actually part of his career - or at best, it’s hotly disputed whether it was part of his career. So it should be moved to the Trump section, if it is to be included at all.

2. In the “Cambridge Analytica” subsection, please remove the last paragraph and delete the subsection title as it’s no longer necessary:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington suggested that he had a conflict of interest when he presented the U.S. Ambassador's Award to Norwegian shipping magnate Thomas Wilhelmsen because Wilhelmsen's cousin and co-heir to the Wilhelmsen company Olympia Paus is married to Alexander Nix, the former CEO of Cambridge Analytica.^[1] Braithwaite denied that he had a conflict of interest.^[1]

Why? This is a very clear example of WP: NOTNEWS. And it’s also political mudslinging to include such non-events on Wikipedia. WP: NPOV In his capacity as an ambassador, Braithwaite handed an honorific in Norway to someone whose cousin was married to the former CEO of Cambridge Analytica (his cousin-in-law). Even the person from the advocacy group says “as a technical matter” he should have recused himself if he had an employment or partnership agreement, As explained above, Braithwaite is adamant that he only had an NDA with Cambridge Analytica, not a contractual relationship, and the State Department agreed he was not required to disclose this. But even if he did have a contractual relationship, handling an honorific in Norway to a cousin-in-law is still a non-event for Wikipedia - even the critic couches as a “technical” matter. This is so minor an allegation that CBS News only placed it as the final paragraphs of its story about Cambridge Analytica, not warranting its own story. They never followed up on it and no other media outlets reported it. And Brathwaite didn’t just deny he had a conflict of interest - he said he had no idea that this person (the cousin-in-law) had any family relationship to the former CEO.

3. In the “Donald Trump administration” section, please replace the sixth paragraph:

In his 8 months as Secretary of the Navy, Braithwaite incurred approximately $2.4 million in travel costs paid by taxpayer funds. At the time, other senior civilian staff reduced their travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Braithwaite travelled more than any other senior Pentagon civilian. The week prior to Joe Biden's inauguration, Braithwaite spent $232,000 to fly to Wake Island, a tiny atoll where no sailors or Marines are stationed. He spent more than $24,000 to attend the Army–Navy football game. He made more than one visit to Hawaii during his 8 months. Braithwaite defended his extensive travel at taxpayer expense, saying, "I submit it's impossible to lead men and women deployed around the world from behind a desk in Washington."^[2]

Replace with:

In May 2021, it was reported that during his eight months in office, Braithwaite took 22 trips and incurred approximately $2.4 million in travel costs, compared to the Air Force Secretary, who took 19 trips^[3] that cost approximately $1.6 million.^[4] Other civilian Pentagon officials decreased their travel during the Covid pandemic. In December 2020, Braithwaite traveled to Wake Island, where he recorded his farewell address; the trip was criticized by Danielle Brian of the Project On Government Oversight.^[3] In response to criticism, Braithwaite said it was impossible to lead the Navy “from behind a desk in Washington” and that his travel was required, in part, due to recent Navy crises. ^[3]

Why? I have tried to rewrite this so it is neutral and does not take sides in accordance with WP:NPOV The current language picks up on bias and subjective judgments in the source, when Wikipedia should be trying to be neutral. (E.g.: “Braithwaite defended his extensive travel at taxpayer expense.”) Whether the travel was “extensive” is the crux of the dispute. The language also goes into excessive detail in a manner that seems intended to slant the dispute against Braithwaite. The suggested replacement offers concise information about the accusations, offers context, and details Braithwaite’s response to the press at greater length.

Thanks for your review. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 15:51, 17 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not done for now: I think this still needs a bit of work on an NPOV front. Can you suggest some revised mixture of what's in there already with what you have? Likeanechointheforest (talk) 14:47, 20 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi User: Likeanechointheforest - thanks for your review. Since each of these requests is fairly detailed, I'll revise them one at a time.

For number 1, I've added back in some of the language that's currently on the page. But because the current language is a severe misrepresentation of the CBS source, I still have to ask for significant changes. What do you think of this?

1. In the “Cambridge Analytica” subsection, please delete the first paragraph or, in the alternative, revise it and move it to become the second paragraph of the “Donald Trump administration” section.

From:

In January 2020, CBS News reported that Braithwaite may have had a business relationship with Cambridge Analytica before he became ambassador to Norway, as documents from the company showed that he had a one-year contract with the company beginning on November 1, 2016. Braithwaite denied having entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica, saying he only conducted short-lived discussions with the company, only informally provided advice, and that he only entered into a non-disclosure agreement. CBS News noted that he was still required to disclose those ties.^[1]

To:

In January 2020, CBS News reported that leaked documents “apparently” indicated that Braithwaite may have had a contractual relationship with Cambridge Analytica before he became ambassador to Norway. Braithwaite denied having entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica, saying he only conducted short-lived discussions with the company, only informally provided advice, and that he only entered into a non-disclosure agreement. He said the State Department Legal Office of Ethics and Financial Disclosure concurred that he was not required to disclose the connection on a required government disclosure form when he was nominated to be ambassador to Norway. Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel for the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said had Braithwaite entered into an employment contract, he would have been required to disclose his ties to the company.^[1]

Why? There are a number of severe misrepresentations and omissions in this paragraph as it stands. 1) CBS did not “note that he was still required to disclose those ties.” A major news organization like CBS would never reach a definitive conclusion when a matter is hotly disputed. Instead, CBS quoted an advocacy organization as saying that if he had employment or partnership agreements then he would be required to disclose, but the story says Braithwaite says he only had an NDA, not an employment or partnership agreement, and that the State Department said he was therefore not required to disclose. Even the critic was careful to say the disclosure was only required if he actually had a partnership or employment agreement; 2) CBS was careful to say that leaked documents “indicated” he may have had a contractual relationship, from the first sentence placing cautionary language as to whether there really was a contractual relationship or whether the leaked documents were even genuine or undoctored. They never confirmed the possibility was true with any other source.

I would argue that this whole paragraph is an example of WP:NOTNEWS and the entire paragraph should be deleted. This was not deemed important enough to even come up at his Senate confirmation hearings (by either party. see: Politico). No other news organization independently reported on this allegation, even though the leaked documents were available on Twitter. (see:CBS News). And CBS placed all sorts of caveats in the story, suggesting further reporting was needed to confirm the veracity, but none ever came.

Finally, all of this is only important relative to the reporting that went on when Braithwaite was nominated to be Secretary of the Navy under the Trump administration. It was not actually part of his career - or at best, it’s hotly disputed whether it was part of his career. So it should be moved to the Trump section, if it is to be included at all. Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 13:50, 4 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The word "apparently" in quotes makes this violate NPOV for me Likeanechointheforest (talk) 18:37, 22 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

If the word "apparently" is removed, would the edit be acceptable to you? Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 16:33, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Here's what I would suggest:

In January 2020, CBS News reported that leaked documents indicated that Braithwaite may have had a contractual relationship with Cambridge Analytica before he became ambassador to Norway. Braithwaite denied having entered into a contract with Cambridge Analytica, saying he only conducted short-lived discussions with the company, only informally provided advice, and that he only entered into a non-disclosure agreement.

Keeping it simple Likeanechointheforest (talk) 18:22, 25 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Yep. Simple is good. Thanks for your feedback on this. Do you want to implement and I'll move on to refining the other edit requests? Brucemyboy1212 (talk) 15:47, 26 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Done Likeanechointheforest (talk) 21:42, 29 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]