The Senate this week confirmed a host of Defense Department nominees just before the chamber left for its congressional recess, breaking a months-long stalemate due to friction between Republicans and Democrats over the health-care debate.
The Senate on Monday confirmed by unanimous consent Air Force Gen. Paul Selva for a second term as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The following day it confirmed by voice vote eight other DOD nominees, including Richard Spencer as Navy secretary, Robert Hood as assistant secretary of defense for legislative affairs, and Matthew Donovan as undersecretary of the Air Force.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday that while he is “pleased” to see the confirmation of those civilian nominees, the Senate is “paralyzed by politics and partisanship” that is delaying the personnel confirmation process. Specifically, Democrats have delayed votes on administration nominees due to objections over Republicans’ health-care legislation.
“I hope the White House will expeditiously send the Senate nominations for the many positions that remain unfilled at the Department of Defense,” McCain said in prepared comments.
Selva has served in his Joint Chiefs position since July 2015; before this post, he led the U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
The Defense Department earlier this year began preparing a new Nuclear Posture Review to set U.S. nuclear arms policy for up to a decade. The Pentagon said the review would be led by the deputy secretary of defense and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, giving Selva a key role in crafting the final document.
Former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan was sworn in as deputy secretary of defense earlier this month, making him another central player in the NPR process.
One of the issues to be addressed by the NPR is Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; Selva in March confirmed on Capitol Hill that the nation has deployed a land-based cruise missile in material breach of the accord, which prohibits the fielding of ground-based cruise and ballistic missiles with flight ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
The NPR, expected to be complete by the end of this year, will outline U.S. response options to the violation.
Selva said Thursday at an Air Force Association breakfast that the administration is considering all options to strengthen the U.S. nuclear deterrent, from “conservative” to “radical.”
Hood most recently served as vice president for government affairs at Energy Department contractor CH2M, and was previously director of congressional affairs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. He also held legislative-affairs positions in the White House and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Donovan most recently was majority policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee, having also worked for the panel’s airland and seapower subcommittees.
Spencer served as a managing partner at the Fall Creek Management investment firm prior to his appointment as head of the Navy. He previously also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
