{"id":69275,"date":"2025-01-17T20:45:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T20:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2025\/01\/17\/how-trumps-air-force-pick-could-elevate-space-priorities\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:18:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:18:42","slug":"how-trumps-air-force-pick-could-elevate-space-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2025\/01\/17\/how-trumps-air-force-pick-could-elevate-space-priorities\/","title":{"rendered":"How Trump\u2019s Air Force pick could elevate space priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Among the resumes of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s picks for key Pentagon posts, aspiring Air Force secretary Troy Meink\u2019s stands out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a Defense Department insider with deep acquisition and technology-development experience, Meink would bring to the job a government background unlike that of Trump\u2019s other DOD nominees. And his specialization in space could upend the priorities of a service typically dominated by Air Force interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Todd Harrison, a senior defense policy fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said choosing a space expert like Meink to lead the Air Force is \u201cconsequential\u201d and indicates that space will be a high priority under the Trump administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is solidly from a space background, unlike any other secretary of the Air Force,\u201d Harrison told Defense News. \u201cI think that it must be intended to send a message that the Trump administration means business when it comes to the Space Force and the prioritization of the Space Force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Meink\u2019s current role as deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, or NRO, he oversees the day-to-day operations of the spy agency, which provides space-based intelligence to the military. Throughout his career, he\u2019s held positions in the Air Force space community, including stints at the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center and in the office of the deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If confirmed, Meink will lead the Air Force and the Space Force at a time when both services face important decisions about the size and shape of their future force. For the Air Force, that means designing a next-generation fighter fleet<\/a>, modernizing two legs of the nuclear triad and determining how to integrate more autonomy and uncrewed aircraft across its portfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Space Force \u2013 which was created five years ago under the first Trump administration \u2013 is looking to double or triple its budget in the coming years<\/a> to get after growing threats and new missions alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next Air Force secretary will decide how resources are distributed between the two services, and a leader with Meink\u2019s space expertise could shift more funding toward the Space Force, whose $30 billion budget for fiscal 2025 is a fraction of the Air Force\u2019s $188 billion request.<\/p>\n\n\n\t