The Senate has confirmed former Pentagon acquisitions chief Frank Kendall to be the next Air Force secretary.
Kendall’s confirmation, conducted via voice vote on Monday, closes the book on his long-standing nomination process that was held up by a few members of the Senate.
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Michigan Democratic Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow lifted their procedural holds on Kendall, who was nominated in April, as well as nine other Department of Defense nominees, which began as a protest over the Air Force’s decision to pass over Selfridge Air National Guard Base for its planned international F-35 training center last month, according to Defense News.
The Michigan lawmakers lifted their hold on the nominations after getting a commitment from the Pentagon that the Air Force will retain and modernize the squadrons of A-10s at the air base. Previously, acting Air Force Secretary John Roth assured Peters of the plans for the base in a July 16 letter.
“Sen. Peters secured significant commitments from the Air Force and the Department of Defense to support and expand Michigan’s military installations and missions,” a Peters spokesperson said. “While he is releasing holds on nominees, he will continue pressing for additional information regarding the Air Force’s recent F-35 international training center decision and will continue advocating for Michigan’s military and defense footprint.”
Both Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and GOP Sen. Mike Lee also briefly slowed Kendall’s confirmation, though they gave in earlier this month.
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Kendall, 72, will be working alongside Gina Ortiz Jones, who has about 15 years of military experience, before getting confirmed to be the undersecretary of the Air Force last week. She is the first publicly out lesbian to serve in the role.
Prior to his confirmation, Kendall served as the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics, a role he had since May 2012, and prior to that, he served as the principal deputy undersecretary and also as the acting undersecretary
