Bridgewater executive McCormick declines Defense Department role

By Lawrence Delevingne NEW YORK (Reuters) - David McCormick has declined an offer to be U.S. deputy secretary of defense in President-elect Donald Trump's administration, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday. It had been unclear how seriously McCormick - an Army veteran and former federal official who is now president of the world's largest hedge fund manager, Bridgewater Associates LP - had been considered for the post. McCormick, who had previously been under consideration to be Treasury Secretary, declined partly because he is happy with his job at Bridgewater and the government role was not the right fit, said the person, who requested anonymity because the information is private. Westport, Connecticut-based Bridgewater declined to comment. McCormick did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. The news of his withdrawal was first reported by Bloomberg. The Washington Post said the Trump team was considering keeping the current deputy defense secretary, Robert Work, on for at least several months. Retired Marine General James "Mad Dog" Mattis has been nominated to be Trump's defense secretary, succeeding current Pentagon chief Ash Carter. Before joining Bridgewater, McCormick, a West Point graduate, was both a White House adviser and U.S. Treasury under secretary for international affairs under Republican President George W. Bush. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)