With the Senate now under Republican control, the leadership of its Appropriations Committee has announced a reshuffle of its powerful subcommittee chairs. “I am optimistic about working with this team and appreciative of the leadership they will provide the committee,” said Chairman Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). Cochran, who served as ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s defense panel in the 113th Congress, now also holds the SAC-D chairmanship in addition to chairing the full committee, taking over from Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.). Cochran also announced chairs for other subcommittees, to include Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) who now chairs the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies panel.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.


