Miles Hutchinson is a fictional character on the NBC television series The West Wing, played by actor Steve Ryan . Hutchinson has served as the Secretary of Defense to President Josiah Bartlet throughout his two terms in office.

Secretary Hutchinson was first mentioned in the Season One episode "A Proportional Response", and continued as an unseen character for the next three seasons. He was frequently mentioned alongside Berryhill, the similarly offscreen Secretary of State.

In the Season Two episode "Two Cathedrals", he was mentioned as being a possible presidential candidate .

He advised the President on the hostage situation in Haiti, although he was clearly never as influential as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace or Dr. Nancy McNally.

Hutchinson made his first onscreen appearance in the Season Four episode "Inaugaration: Part One", where he clashed with the President. He was said to disrespect Bartet for never having served in the military. Following the retirement of Admiral Fitzwallace, and the increased absence of Dr. McNally, Hutchinson's relative influence in the Situation Room increased dramatically, and he advised President Bartlet on various crises in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Bolivia, and Iran.

Hutchinson has more than once come into conflict with rookie Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg, over, for example, the handling a crisis involving stolen Georgian nuclear material, and whether or not to use a secret space shuttle to rescue astronauts from the damaged International Space Station.

See also

• The West Wing
• Characters on The West Wing
• List of The West Wing episodes