Senate confirms Wormuth as first female Army secretary after delay
By Rebecca Kheel - 05/27/21 10:40 AM EDT
The Senate on Thursday confirmed President Biden's nominee to be Army secretary, making her the first woman in the job a day after a procedural mixup stalled her historic appointment.
The Senate approved Christine Wormuth’s nomination to lead the Army by unanimous consent on Thursday morning after confirming and then un-confirming her the night before.
On Wednesday night, the Senate appeared to approve Wormuth’s nomination to be Army secretary when Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) took to the floor and got unanimous consent to confirm Wormuth, as well as a batch of military nominations.
But a couple hours later, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) got unanimous consent to “vitiate” the earlier action on Wormuth, rescinding her confirmation.
Wormuth had already tweeted that she was “honored” to be confirmed, and Schumer and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston had both congratulated her in since deleted tweets.
It’s unclear why the Senate temporarily reversed her confirmation. Schumer did not explain why on the Senate floor, and his office has not responded to a request for comment.
But it proved to be just a momentary hiccup for a nominee that is widely respected on both sides of the aisle and sailed through her Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing earlier this month.
The panel advanced Wormuth in a voice vote earlier this week, about a week and a half at a confirmation hearing in which she vowed to be a vocal advocate for the Army in budget fights among the services.
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https://thehill.com/policy/defense/555710-senate-confirms-wormuth-as-first-female-army-secretary-after-delay
