Washington – The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed former Rep. Brandon Williams to a top nuclear security post, eight months after President Trump nominated him for the job.
Williams, 58, will oversee the nation’s nuclear arsenal as the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. He becomes only the seventh administrator in the agency’s history.
Some experts in nuclear weapons programs criticized Williams’ nomination because of his relative lack of experience for the job.
The agency’s former leaders included physicists, military generals and national security professionals with decades of experience.
Williams served for six years as a submarine officer in the Navy before dedicating his career to tech start-ups, investment banking, and operating a truffle farm in Cayuga County.
Williams replaces Jill Hruby who served in the post from July 2021 to the beginning of this year, who spent four decades as a scientist and engineer. Hruby worked for 34 years at Sandia National Laboratories.
In his new job, Williams will oversee the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and nuclear propulsion for the U.S. Navy.
The semi-autonomous National Nuclear Security Administration, part of the Department of Energy, has an annual budget of $25 billion and more than 65,000 employees and contractors at laboratories and plants across the nation.
Williams was confirmed for the post Thursday without debate in a 51-47 party-line vote in the Republican controlled Senate.
He was among 48 Trump nominees confirmed together in a single vote after Republicans in the Senate voted to change long-standing rules that require nominees to be considered separately.
GOP leaders said they made the change to speed up the confirmation process.
Dozens of Trump nominees including Williams had been held up for consideration as Democrats put up procedural hurdles. Democrats argued the hurdles were necessary to prevent unqualified nominees from taking office.
Among the 48 Trump nominees confirmed with Williams was Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former Fox News personality, who becomes U.S. ambassador to Greece. She is the former fiancée of Donald Trump Jr.
Williams lost the 22nd Congressional District election in November to Democrat John Mannion. The district spans all of Onondaga and Madison counties, and parts of Cayuga, Cortland and Oneida counties.
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