Pentagon ousts its Defense Production Act point person

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The Pentagon has removed Jennifer Santos, its point person for the Defense Production Act, a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed to Fox News.

"The Department can confirm that Ms. Jennifer Santos is moving from her current position as the Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy to the Department of the Navy,” Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said.

Santos oversaw efforts to use the Defense Production Act to partner with industry to build up the nation’s supply of medical equipment such as ventilators, personal protective gear and testing materials to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

Santos will now work for James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition. Scott Baum, who is DoD's principal director of industrial policy, will take over Santos' position on an acting basis, Andrews told Politico, which first reported the news.

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It’s not yet clear why Santos was let go.

Democrats initially criticized Trump as being hesitant to fully use the DPA early on in the pandemic. The Trump administration first used the act, which dates back to the Korean War, to require General Motors to produce ventilators in late March. He’s most recently used it to ensure meat processing plants stay open amid fears of a supply shortage.

Santos was appointed to her job in 2019 after her predecessor Eric Chewning was picked to be chief of staff for then-acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan.

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Santos spent much of her tenure working to fight Chinese infiltration of defense industrial base under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. She also has experience working in defense innovation for the private sector and as a staffer for the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.