The Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Corey Hinderstein to be deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Security Administration.
A think-tanker with a previous detail to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) under her belt, Hinderstein was on the Senate’s executive calendar for 40 days after clearing the Senate Armed Services Committee in a voice vote on Oct. 21.
It was not clear when Hinderstein would be sworn in at the Department of Energy. “The department will schedule a swearing in as soon as the administration receives the necessary paperwork from the Senate,” an NNSA spokesperson said Tuesday. Once sworn in, Hinderstein will run a roughly $2-billion-a-year portfolio focused on reducing the global availability of fissile material.
Hinderstein’s unobstructed confirmation, from the Armed Services Committee to the Senate floor, was something of an outlier this week among continuing partisan gridlock about defense issues in the Senate, where minority Republicans have blocked debate on the annual National Defense Authorization Act, citing disagreement about which proposed amendments to the bill should receive a vote.
In her confirmation hearing before the Armed Services Committee, Hinderstein got some pressure about comments she made on cable news about Iran’s nuclear program in 2019, but ultimately was praised by both Sens. Jack Reed (R-R.I.), the chair, and James Inhofe (R-Okla.), the ranking member, as the right person for the job.
When President Joe Biden nominated Hinderstein on Aug. 9, she was vice president of international fuel cycle strategies at the Nuclear Threat Initiative in Washington. During her last stint in federal service, during then-President Barack Obama’s second term, Hinderstein was detailed to the NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation from the Pentagon.
“Congratulations to Corey Hinderstein for her confirmation as Deputy NNSA Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and thank you to the Senate for confirming this highly qualified public servant,” NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby wrote in a statement. “Corey has a long record of accomplishment in protecting our nation from nuclear threats, and under her leadership of our talented team, Corey will help build stronger international partnerships and bring new ideas and technologies to our nonproliferation work.”
