Tag Archives: Senate confirmation

Jen Easterly, President Joe Biden's nominee for the director position at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), was confirmed in a unanimous Senate vote Monday. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, described Easterly as a cybersecurity professional with military, civil service and industry experience and noted that they will work together in efforts to address urgent cyber and physical threats to critical U.S. infrastructure.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said advancing modernization programs will be her top priority to enable the service to meet future challenges. “I am committed to continue transforming our forces to be able to compete, deter, and if necessary fight and win across the multi-domain battlefield,” Wormuth wrote in a letter to the Army.

The Senate on Friday voted unanimously to confirm Eric Lander, a biologist and mathematician, as director of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), making him the first OSTP head to receive cabinet-level status. He will become the 11th OSTP director and will serve as science adviser to President Biden. 

Marty Walsh, mayor of Boston, has received Senate confirmation to serve as the 29th secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). The Senate on Monday voted 68-29 to approve Walsh’s nomination for the top role at DOL. Walsh has been mayor of Boston since 2014. He was a member of the Laborers' Union Local 223 and led the Boston Trades Council. 

The Senate confirmed William Burns, former deputy secretary of state, a veteran diplomat and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, to lead the CIA as its director. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee in February, he said politics should not interfere with intelligence work. Burns is president of the international affairs think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

Isabel Guzman, who has served as director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate since April 2019, received Senate confirmation via an 81-17 vote to be the Small Business Administration's (SBA) next leader. In addition, she co-founded GovContractPros in 2018 with the intent to provide consulting services to companies that want to do business with the federal government. 

The Senate has confirmed Antony Blinken, former deputy secretary of state during the Obama administration, to lead the State Department in a 78-22 vote on Tuesday, The New York Times reported. During his confirmation hearing, Blinken said he plans to review U.S. policy toward North Korea and take a tougher approach to Russia and China. 

The Senate voted 84-15 Monday to confirm Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve, as secretary of the Department of the Treasury (USDT). Yellen’s confirmation made her the first woman to hold the top post at the Treasury. She is a labor economist who also served as vice chair of the Federal Reserve and chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration. 

Maj. Gen. Robert Skinner has received Senate confirmation to lead the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) as director, succeeding Vice Adm. Nancy Norton. He will rank up to lieutenant general for the role through which he will lead efforts to protect the Department of Defense's (DoD) enterprise infrastructure and operate joint command-and-control functions.

The U.S. Senate has granted Mark Menezes, undersecretary of energy, the confirmation to serve as the Department of Energy's (DoE) deputy secretary. Menezes will undergo a swearing-in for his new role at a future date to be announced.