Air Force Secretary Nominee Barbara Barrett testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee, as a part of the confirmation process, on Sept 12, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Air Force photo by Wayne Clark.
The Senate will likely hold a confirmation vote for Barbara Barrett, the nominee to become the Air Force’s next secretary, in mid-October.
At 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, the chamber will decide whether to proceed to the final tally—expected on Oct. 16. Lawmakers set that schedule Sept. 26, the same day they confirmed Ryan McCarthy as the permanent Army secretary.
Barrett and McCarthy jointly testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Sept. 12.
Barrett, an aerospace executive and former diplomat, would replace Acting Secretary Matt Donovan, who took over when former USAF civilian boss Heather Wilson left at the end of May.
While SASC passed Barrett’s nomination out of committee by voice vote, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he would oppose her confirmation and put a hold on the process until she promises to create a policy to block Air Force spending at Trump-owned properties once confirmed.
The senator pressed the nominee on the issue at her hearing, prompted by recent news reports on USAF stopovers at the Trump Turnberry resort in Scotland.