The Senate Armed Services Committee will consider the nomination of retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be Defense Secretary on Jan. 19. Because Austin retired from the Army in 2016, from the position of commander of U.S. Central Command, Congress must approve a ...
Democrats appear poised to run defense policy in both congressional chambers for the first time in 10 years, as the party has won control of the Senate with narrow victories in two Jan. 5 Georgia runoff races. The results come at the end of a ...
Congress voted to enact a $741 billion defense policy bill over the objections of President Donald J. Trump, who vetoed the long-running annual legislation on Dec. 23. The Senate overrode Trump’s veto 81-13 on New Year’s Day, following the House’s 322-87 vote on Dec. 28. ...
Historic Air Force installations on Florida’s Space Coast marked a modern milestone on Dec. 9 as they were redesignated Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station—the first facilities named as part of the new service. “Today, we start a new era at ...
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be his Defense Secretary, the transition team announced Dec. 8. Austin, who left the military in 2016 as the four-star head of U.S. Central Command, would be the first-ever Black man to ...
As the final days of 2020 count down, House and Senate negotiators have agreed on sweeping defense policy legislation that offers nearly $732 billion to the armed forces in fiscal 2021. “The FY21 NDAA focuses on maintaining the strength of our defense enterprise as our ...
The Senate Armed Services Committee appears likely to maintain its status quo, as the prospect of Democratic control of the Senate has dimmed after Election Day. SASC Chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Ranking Member Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) won reelection by wide margins on ...
Leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are tentatively scheduling a “Big Four” meeting for Oct. 26 to begin hashing out an agreement on the 2021 defense policy bill, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told reporters. The Big Four ...
Lawmakers have approved a slew of funding shifts the Pentagon requested in June to pay officers, avoid hiring freezes in the Department of the Air Force, and set up U.S. Space Command, among other priorities. The Defense Department routinely asks the House and Senate Appropriations ...
The Air Force still needs 220 total bombers, including about 100 new B-21s, though that target is a “living number” that can change as the Raider comes online and aging aircraft are modernized and outfitted with advanced weapons, the head of Air Force Global Strike ...
Tracking and countering advanced cruise missiles developed by Russia and China needs to be a top priority for U.S. Northern Command, the nominee to lead the organization told lawmakers July 28. USAF Lt. Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, currently the director of the Joint Staff, said ...
Army Lt. Gen. James H. Dickinson on July 28 outlined his plans to continue ingraining space operations expertise around the U.S. military, if confirmed as the next boss of U.S. Space Command. Dickinson, currently SPACECOM’s deputy commander, would be the first uniformed officer outside the ...