About six months after his nomination, the Senate on Tuesday confirmed Vice Adm. William Houston to be director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program that develops reactors for Navy warships and submarines.
Houston was nominated in May to lead Naval Reactors for an eight-year term. At the time, however, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) was blocking all military promotions in an attempt to make the Pentagon reverse a policy under which service members are reimbursed for expenses incurred while traveling to seek abortion and other reproductive healthcare.
Tuberville’s blockade began in February and ended, by and large, on Dec. 5, when the Senate confirmed more than 400 promotions. However, the Alabama Senator was until recently still blocking promotions to very senior military ranks including admiral.
Houston, one of eleven senior service members cleared for promotion Tuesday, was most recently the head of the Navy’s submarine fleet.
Houston eventually will replace Adm. James Caldwell, who has led Naval Reactors since 2015. The head of Naval Reactors oversees six shipyards and the development of nuclear propulsion reactors for the Navy. The head of Naval Reactors is also the National Nuclear Security Administration’s deputy administrator for nuclear reactors.
