Like many agency leaders, Beaudreau has been forced to confront modern cyber threats that target federal agencies. She would replace Gina Ortiz Jones, who left the leadership post in March. After the Senate confirmed three joint chiefs, Democrats are strategizing how to confirm the hundreds of other military nominees held up by Tuberville. The Senate is expected to fill three vacancies on the Joint Chiefs of Staff — including the chairman post — after a surprise breakthrough Wednesday. Efforts to force Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville to end confirmation blockade have yet to yield results. Congress' dysfunction is taking its toll on national security as a government shutdown looms and hundreds of officers can't take their posts. She laid out the submarine production rate needed for AUKUS at her Senate hearing, though her confirmation is uncertain. “This is a situation that one senator has created for us,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference in Maryland. Some lawmakers want individual votes on high-ranking military posts to ensure that the leadership gaps don't get worse. The Army veteran was nominated to the department leadership post back in April. Load More