The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Air Force Gen. Charles Brown to become the next chief of staff by a vote of 98-0, ensuring Brown becomes the first African-American to lead the service.
Brown currently serves as the commander of Pacific Air Forces, the air component command commander for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and the executive director for Pacific Air Combat Operations Staff at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. He will become the 22nd Air Force chief of staff, succeeding Gen. David Goldfein in a swearing-in ceremony Aug. 6.
Goldfein issued a statement of congratulations to Brown Tuesday afternoon following the confirmation. “There is no more seasoned warfighter in the U.S. Air Force than CQ Brown, and no leader has been better prepared for this job than him,” he said.
The Trump administration formally nominated Brown to lead the Air Force on May 2. Brown’s confirmation had been held up by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Defense News reported June 3 that Sullivan placed a hold on the nomination, waiting on several answers to questions he had following the committee’s May 7 confirmation hearing for Brown, and that he had since lifted the hold.
During his confirmation hearing, Brown asserted his priorities as chief of staff would include the Pentagon-wide effort of joint all-domain command and control (JADC2), a focus on maintaining space superiority, and better partnership with both traditional and non-traditional defense industry members. He advocated for the Defense Department to receive steady funding of 3% to 5% real growth per year to keep up with modernization efforts and readiness goals.
Vice President Mike Pence presided over the Senate vote Tuesday afternoon. As vice president, Pence also serves as the president of the U.S. Senate.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) congratulated Brown on his “historic promotion” in a Tuesday statement.
