Senate confirms Cavoli as head of US European Command

The Senate late Thursday confirmed Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli to serve as commander of U.S. European Command by voice vote.

Cavoli, who is currently commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, will also take over as NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, overseeing the planning and execution of the alliance’s operations.

He will be taking over for Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, who has been serving in both roles since May of 2019.

President Biden nominated Cavoli for the role in early May, and the Senate Armed Services Committee advanced the nomination on June 15.

Cavoli will take over as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags into its fourth month and the U.S. and the alliance rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Kyiv.

The alliance is hosting a summit in Madrid on Wednesday and Thursday, during which member states will endorse the alliance’s new Strategic Concept. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is expected to also be discussed.

Cavoli also takes over as Finland and Sweden look to join NATO, something that Cavoli welcomed during his confirmation hearing in late May.

“From a military perspective, each of those militaries brings quite a bit of capability and capacity to the alliance from day one,” Cavoli said at the time.

Cavoli has served as commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa since 2020, and before then served in a variety of roles in Asia, the U.S. and Europe.

He brings a wealth of expertise on Europe, however, having served as director of Russia for the Joint Staff and as a general foreign area officer with a focus on Eurasia. In addition, he speaks Italian, Russian and French.