Barrett Still Prepping Ethics Paperwork for SECAF Nomination


Barbara Barrett speaks with attendees at the 2018 Dinner with Kennedy hosted by the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Nov. 9, 2018. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr.

Barbara Barrett’s formal nomination to be the next Air Force secretary remains held up as officials finish the ethics paperwork required to send her name to the Senate for consideration, two sources tell Air Force Magazine.

“They are in the final stages of completing all of the ethics paperwork,” a source close to the Barretts said in an email. “There are no showstoppers.”

It takes a while to unwind the nominee from her extensive business resume, a Senate aide added.

President Donald Trump announced his intent to pick the former chair of The Aerospace Corporation and deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to lead the Air Force in May.

With the Senate out on August recess from Aug. 5 through Sept. 6, however, the Air Force will lack a congressionally confirmed secretary until after Labor Day. Barrett “looks forward to a confirmation hearing as early as possible in September,” the source close to the family said.

Former Secretary Heather Wilson departed for academia at the end of May; Matt Donovan holds the acting secretary job until further notice. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Barrett’s delay.