President Joe Biden on Thursday named Melissa Dalton as his pick to function the following under secretary of the Air Force, a shift from her current Pentagon post because the top civilian defense leader on homeland security issues.
If confirmed, Dalton would replace Gina Ortiz Jones, who left the second highest service post in March. Kristyn Jones, the assistant secretary of the Air Force, has been serving because the Air Force’s acting undersecretary since Jones’ departure.
Dalton has served multiple roles in Biden’s Pentagon in addition to defense roles within the administrations of former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush. Before being named assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense in March 2022, she served as principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy.
Dalton also previously worked as deputy director on the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ International Security Program and as an intelligence analyst on the Defense Intelligence Agency.
She’s going to must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming her recent role, putting a timeline for her start doubtful. Defense nominations have been stalled for seven months within the chamber amid a fight between Pentagon leaders and Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville over the department’s abortion access policies.
The Senate confirmed three members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff this week, including recent Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown, the previous top uniformed officer within the Air Force. But greater than 300 others — including Brown’s alternative, Gen. David Allvin — are still awaiting a resolution to the political fight.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, specializing in military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned quite a few honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.