Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) has formally been named the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, ending months of speculation about the Texas lawmaker taking over for outgoing chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.). Thornberry, whose Texas panhandle district includes the Pantex Plant, has served as the vice chairman of the panel for the last four years and has extensive experience on national security issues. He was integral in writing the legislation that created the National Nuclear Security Administration in 2000 and has been keenly involved in the weapons complex since he was elected to Congress in 1995. “Our country faces a wide array of serious national security challenges from the renewed aggression of major powers to terrorism and attacks in cyberspace,” Thornberry said in a statement. “Congress has an indispensable role to play in meeting those challenges, and the Committee will work to see that our country remains strong.”