Russ Vought, who has led the Office of Management and Budget on an acting basis, has received Senate confirmation to assume the role full time, Politico reported Monday.

He began his tenure as OMB’s interim director in January last year after Mick Mulvaney, former OMB director, was named President Trump’s acting chief of staff. Vought received Trump’s nomination for the full-time OMB leadership role earlier this year.

The experienced public sector worker proposed to Congress a merge between the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration to better address the needs of federal agencies.

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said Vought’s role is vital for the government to address a challenging budget landscape.

The Senate has confirmed Army LTG Daniel Hokanson as the next chief of the National Guard Bureau (NGB) with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, succeeding Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, MilitaryTimes reported on Monday. 

“The next chief of the National Guard Bureau must continue to effectively navigate this unprecedented landscape and work closely with stakeholders at the international, federal, state, and local levels,” Hokanson said. 

Hokanson is expected to be promoted to the rank of four-star general in early August. Lengyel has served as chief of the NGB since August 2016. Hokanson currently serves as director of the Army National Guard.

As director of the Army National Guard, Hokanson guides the formulation, development and implementation of all programs and policies affecting the Army National Guard; a force of nearly 350 thousand Soldiers in the 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia.

In his new position, he will be responsible for the domestic response and combat preparedness of more than 450 thousand national guardsmen in the Army and Air National Guard. Hokanson will also be a senior military adviser to the president, secretary of defense and National Security Council.

Hokanson has listed his new initiatives for the National Guard, noting that the division must work toward enhancing its cyber capabilities, ensuring adequate manpower and training and maintaining interoperability with active duty components and allied nations.

Throughout his career, Hokanson has served as vice chief of the NGB. He also previously served as as the 11th as deputy commander of the U.S. Northern Command, and vice commander of U.S. Element, North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base.

Hokanson graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1986, serving active duty in air cavalry, attack helicopter, and aircraft testing positions before joining the Oregon National Guard.

“This is an important and pivotal time in the history of our National Guard. We face complex, dynamic missions overseas and here at home,” added Hokanson.

Counter Threat Solutions (CTS) has promoted Matthew Smith to the role of program manager to supervise operations, growth of the company’s contracts and three teams of CTS employees, the company reported on Tuesday.

“Matt brings decades of leadership and talent development expertise to this new role, not to mention a deep understanding of our client’s mission and needs,” said CTS CEO Theresa Keith.

Smith will bring nearly three decades of experience in providing global integrated executive, analytic and technical support. Smith has led large teams in hostile environments, ensuring timely, innovative, secure and sustainable solutions to a variety of enterprise-wide challenges.

A retired intelligence community (IC) officer, Smith earned a Masters of Arts in International Affairs from George Washington University, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and International Studies from Miami University.

“CTS employs an impressive cadre of talent across numerous skills sets and disciplines,” Smith concluded. “I look forward to connecting our subject matter experts with some of our nation’s most pressing intelligence challenges to deliver tangible, actionable results.”

Smith’s promotion has followed the recent appointment of John Thompson, former program manager at the company, as director of programs with CTS. The company announced Thompson’s appointment in May 2020.

In his new role, Thompson will supervise contract expansion and align employee development initiatives to operational and organizational goals. Thompson recently developed and implemented a continuity of operations plans for the firm in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thomson also managed several contracts in his previous role.

Prior to CTS, Thompson performed force protection, intelligence program management and anti-terrorism missions at the U.S. Air Force for more than two decades.

About Counter Threat Solutions

Counter Threat Solutions LLC (CTS) is a Woman-Owned Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) consulting company named a 2020 Best Place to Work by The Washington Business Journal. CTS provides mission-savvy subject matter experts to the U.S. Government’s intelligence and defense communities, as well as innovative financial and IT solutions to its civilian clientele.