Defense contractors urge swift action on national security nominees

The Aerospace Industries Association is urging the Senate to immediately confirm President-elect Donald Trump's national security nominees, including James Mattis as defense secretary; John Kelly as Homeland Security Secretary and Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) as CIA director.

The statements AIA released in support of the nominees also point out the potential of its members to grow the U.S. economy's manufacturing base, a key aspect of Trump's new job growth agenda.

"Our industry contributes the largest positive trade balance of any U.S. industry -- $81.6 billion in 2015 -- and supports more than 1.7 million jobs in the United States, including 13 percent of our nation’s manufacturing workforce," AIA states. "We have great potential to create more jobs, particularly with strong investment in our nation’s defense."