Senior DOD nominees slated for hearing next week

The Senate Armed Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Jan. 16 to consider two nominations for senior Pentagon positions.

The committee is slated to hear from James McPherson, nominated to be Army under secretary, and Charles Williams, tapped to be assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations, and environment.

Meanwhile, committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) said in a statement that lawmakers hope passage of the fiscal year 2021 defense authorization bill will go smoothly.

"With a two-year budget deal in place, we hope that we can move quickly and complete this must-pass bill on time," they said.