Senate confirms, then unconfirms, Army secretary nominee

The Senate confirmed — and then hours later unconfirmed — President Biden nominee’s to be Army secretary, a procedural mix-up that will stall Christine Wormuth’s path to being the first woman in the job at least a little longer.

The Senate appeared to approve the nominee Wednesday evening when Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) took to the floor and got unanimous consent to confirm Wormuth, as well as a batch of other military nominations.

But hours later, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) got unanimous consent to “vitiate” the earlier action on Wormuth, rescinding her confirmation.

Wormuth had already tweeted that she was “honored” to be confirmed, and Schumer and Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston had both congratulated her in since-deleted tweets.

It’s unclear why the Senate reversed her confirmation. Schumer did not explain why on the Senate floor, and his office has not responded to a request for comment.

But it is likely just a procedural hiccup for a nominee that is widely respected on both sides of the aisle and sailed through her Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing earlier this month.

The panel advanced Wormuth’s nomination in a voice vote earlier this week, about a week and a half after a confirmation hearing in which she vowed to be a vocal advocate for the Army in budget fights among the services.

She also expressed concern about whether National Guard and reserve forces are being overused.

Wormuth worked in the Pentagon during the Obama administration and most recently has served as the director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND Corp.

Wormuth also served as the head of Biden’s Pentagon transition team, a role she took over after Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks stepped aside to focus on her own confirmation process.