The U.S. Senate confirmed Heather Wilson, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives, Monday as President Trump’s secretary of the Air Force.
The vote was 76-22 in favor of Wilson becoming the top civilian overseeing the Air Force. The 22 “no” votes all came from Democrats.
Wilson praised the stealth capability of Lockheed Martin Corp’s F-35 fighter jet at her confirmation hearing in March, in remarks that suggests the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons system would have an important advocate.
Wilson, 56, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and former Rhodes scholar, a president of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology since 2013. She was also House member from New Mexico from 1998 to 2009 and had served on the National Security Council under President George HW Bush.