Space News:
Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) will be the new chairman of the Senate subcommittee responsible for military space issues, the Senate Armed Services Committee announced Jan. 18.
Fischer succeeds Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as chairman of the strategic forces subcommittee. Sessions was nominated Nov. 18 by the incoming Trump administration to the post of Attorney General. That nomination is pending confirmation by the Senate.
The strategic forces subcommittee’s responsibilities include oversight of U.S. Strategic Command and the space commands of the various military branches, as well as ballistic missile defense and nuclear programs. Strategic Command is headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska.
Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) will be the subcommittee’s ranking member, the same position he held in the previous Congress. Full subcommittee assignments have yet to be announced by the committee.
