{"id":16937,"date":"2021-05-20T23:03:40","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T23:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/05\/20\/congress-to-vet-nominees-for-air-force-secretary-two-more-key-dod-positions-next-week\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:22:48","slug":"congress-to-vet-nominees-for-air-force-secretary-two-more-key-dod-positions-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/05\/20\/congress-to-vet-nominees-for-air-force-secretary-two-more-key-dod-positions-next-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Congress to vet nominees for Air Force secretary, two more key DoD positions next week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to hold a joint confirmation hearing May 25<\/a> to vet President Joe Biden\u2019s nominees for Air Force secretary and two other key Pentagon posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frank Kendall, the Pentagon\u2019s former acquisition boss who also spent time in industry, is up for the secretary job overseeing the Air Force and Space Force. Heidi Shyu, previously the Army\u2019s top acquisition official and a Raytheon alum, is under consideration to become undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. And Susanna Blume, who ran the Center for a New American Security\u2019s defense program, is nominated to direct the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, the three will be important players in a department eager to modernize its force to combat current and future threats while also facing pandemic-era budget constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\t