Jules Hurst III, nominated to be Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), has been performing the duties of Pentagon Comptroller since August 2025. In March, Hurst publicly described the $1.5 trillion budget proposal as funding only the most essential things. The White House formally nominated Hurst for the Pentagon Comptroller role in May.
Space Acquisition Under Pressure
The military space enterprise entered 2026 under pressure to turn long-promised acquisition reforms into results. Two of the four nominees directly address this challenge.
Erich Hernandez-Baquero, a Raytheon executive, was nominated by President Trump on April 21 to be Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration. He would replace Frank Calvelli, the former Space Force acquisition czar, who resigned. In March, Tom Ainsworth announced that new Space Force acquisition portfolio offices covering space control and orbital warfare were being put in place. Ainsworth has been performing the duties of Air Force Assistant Secretary for Space Acquisition and Integration in the interim.
Roger Mason, currently the Chief Growth Officer at V2X, a defense contractor, was nominated by President Trump on April 21 to be director of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He would succeed Christopher Scolese, who departed as NRO director in early 2025. At his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on May 28, Mason stated that the NRO is navigating a period of rapid technological change fueled by private-sector investment and innovation.
The NRO is actively modernizing its satellite constellation. On June 18, SpaceX conducted its 14th launch supporting the NRO’s low Earth orbit constellation, its third launch of 2026. The NRO envisions having hundreds of small satellites on orbit to provide greater revisit rates and increased coverage. In June, the NRO announced funding for BlackSky to develop new satellites and an AI-optimized image detection system.
Hearing Details
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold the DoD nominations hearing on June 25, 2026, at 9:30 AM in G50 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Roger Wicker chairs the committee, with Jack Reed serving as ranking member.
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