First woman US military service chief Lisa Franchetti

President Joe Biden has chosen Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the navy, a senior administration official said on Friday. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to be a US military service chief.

Biden’s decision to tap Franchetti, an admiral with broad command and executive experience, goes against the recommendation of his Pentagon chief, but he is selecting an officer whom insiders had considered the top choice for the job. Franchetti, the current vice chief of operations for the navy, would become the first female member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

Defence secretary Lloyd Austin recommended that Biden select Admiral Samuel Paparo, the current commander of the navy’s Pacific Fleet, several US officials said last month. But instead, the administration official said Biden is nominating Paparo to lead US Indo-Pacific Command. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the nomination has not been made public.

The administration official said Biden chose Franchetti based on the broad scope of her experience at sea and ashore, including a number of high-level policy and administrative jobs that give her deep knowledge in budgeting and running the department.