The full Senate will consider the nomination of Heather Wilson to be Secretary of the Air Force on Monday, May 8. The Senate will hold “four hours of debate equally divided on both sides” and then vote on the nomination, according to a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). An unspecified procedural hold was placed on Wilson’s nomination after the Armed Services Committee approved it 22-5, delaying its full consideration by the Senate. But, that hold has since been lifted. If confirmed, she would be the first military service secretary on the job for the Trump Administration.
Every year, Congress and the military debate which combat assets should head to the boneyard and which have more life left in them. Lawmakers often opt to keep Air Force systems that bring jobs to their districts, which complicates matters as the service looks to modernize and ditch certain platforms.…