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Mabus sworn in as 75th SecNav

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus was sworn into office Tuesday, one day after he was confirmed unanimously by the Senate as part of a block of other nominees for jobs in the Obama administration.

A Navy announcement gave no details about Mabus’ swearing-in, although it is common for service secretaries to hold a small ceremony with family to formally take over, then have a larger public event to mark the beginning of their tenure. It wasn’t clear yet whether that would be the case with Mabus.

Navy Undersecretary-designate Bob Work hadn’t been sworn in as of early Tuesday evening, although he was part of the block of nominees confirmed Monday by the Senate.

Mabus, who served as a surface warfare officer aboard the cruiser Little Rock from 1971-72, is a native of Ackerman, Miss. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Mississippi; a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University; and a law degree from Harvard. He served as governor of Mississippi and as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and he is the 75th secretary of the Navy.

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