Mystery as Senate rescinds confirmation of first female army secretary

Christine Wormuth celebrated her confirmation on Twitter before Senate fracas saw it rolled back

Christine Wormuth (AP)

Christine Wormuth, the first woman confirmed by the US Senate as army Secretary, found herself in limbo on Wednesday night as the Senate reversed her confirmation – just after she had tweeted how honoured she was.

As the chamber worked late into the night to vote on a raft of measures and amendments, Ms Wormuth was first confirmed to her post along with a number of other military nominees. But shortly afterward and without any explanation, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sought and received unanimous consent to reverse her confirmation.

In the absence of a statement from Mr Schumer’s office, it is so far unclear whether the move relates to Ms Wormuth directly or whether it is more a procedural matter. RollCall’s Andrew Clevenger reported that the issue may have been that Ms Wormuth was confirmed by unanimous consent before it was fully established that that consent was given.

It is unclear what will happen next, but there is as yet no suggestion that Ms Wormuth’s nomination is being scrapped altogether.

Ms Wormuth was not considered an especially controversial nominee, and her confirmation process proceeded largely without incident or noteworthy opposition from Republicans. One Senator, North Dakota’s Kevin Cramer, raised concerns over a case involving an individual officer who was incorrectly paid, but in the end he abstained in the committee vote to confirm her rather than voting against her.

The US army is bracing for expected funding cuts in Joe Biden’s first budget request, which he is expected to send to Congress in the next week.

In an appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ms Wormuth – an Obama-era Pentagon staffer who also directed the RAND Corporation’s International Security and Defense Policy Centre – expressed concern that the National Guard and reserve forces have been put under excessive strain in the last year, with the Trump administration cracking down hard on protests and forces being brought in to defend the US Capitol.