take the helm

かねてよりトランプ大統領との不仲が噂されてきたマティス国防長官が辞任することが公表され、日本でも大きく報道されています。

そのマティス氏の後任に、副長官のPatrick Shanahan氏が就任することが決まったようです。


It's official - deputy defense secretary Patrick Shanahan will be taking the helm at the Pentagon as acting secretary of defense.

James Mattis, who resigned from the position over US President Donald Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria, will be forced out of the role before 2019. In his resignation letter, Mattis had offered to stay on for two months in order to facilitate a smooth transition.

Instead, Trump announced his new pick in a tweet on Sunday. He praised Shanahan, writing: "Patrick has a long list of accomplishments while serving as Deputy, & previously Boeing. He will be great!"
(Aine Cain. Meet Patrick Shanahan, the former Boeing executive nicknamed 'Mr. Fix-It' who's replacing General James Mattis as Defense secretary. Business Insider. December 23, 2018.)


Shanahan氏は航空機で有名なボーイング社の出身だそうですが、“Mr. Fix-It”とも渾名されるほどの腕利きだそうです。

さて、組織におけるリーダーを表現するのに、日本語でも「舵取り」という表現を用いますが、英語でも、


take the helm


という言い回しが使われます。

ここで”helm”とは船を操舵する舵のことです。