Army Secretary Confirmed for 2nd Time in 12 Hours

Christine Wormuth had been confirmed, then unconfirmed, for reasons unrelated to her
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 28, 2021 5:00 AM CDT
First Female Army Chief Confirmed, After a SNAFU
Nominee to be Secretary of the Army Christine Elizabeth Wormuth smiles as former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, left, introduces her during a Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing, Thursday, May 13, 2021.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Christine Wormuth is off the Senate confirmation merry-go-round and ready to start serving as America's first female Army secretary. She was confirmed by the Senate Thursday, having been confirmed and then unconfirmed in the previous 12 hours, reports Politico. The Wednesday night reversal of Wormuth's confirmation, which Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer did not explain at the time, turned out to have been caused by a hold placed on the nomination by a Republican senator for reasons unrelated to Wormuth. North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer said he held up the confirmation to address the issue of a major with a family of four who had been underpaid for 10 months.

Cramer said the major, one of his constituents, had been underpaid by more than $50,000. He said Thursday that he released the hold after speaking with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and receiving reassurances that the problem would be resolved. He said he supports Wormuth and believes she will do a "fine job." Wormuth, who is now the Army's top civilian official, said the major's problem would be dealt with, Roll Call reports. "This situation, frankly, is totally unacceptable,” she said. "We can’t have situations where we’re not paying our soldiers the money that they earn for 10 months." (More Senate stories.)

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