President 
Bush on Aug. 17 announced plans to nominate Michael W. Wynne to become the new Secretary of the Air Force. Wynne, a West Point graduate, has served as the principal undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics. Bush did not say when he would officially forward Wynne’s nomination to Congress. If confirmed, he would succeed James Roche, who left the post earlier this year. Bush earlier had appointed Preston “Pete” Geren, a former Texas Congressman, to serve as Acting SECAF, and he will continue in that post until Wynne is installed in office.
House lawmakers unveiled a new reconciliation package July 15 with $60 billion for defense, $290 billion less than the Pentagon has been seeking, a day after a Senate vote to advance the annual defense policy bill failed—developments that show the perilous state of the Pentagon’s ambitious plans for fiscal 2027.