Senate confirms Heather Wilson as Trump's Air Force secretary

[May 09, 2017]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate easily confirmed Heather Wilson, a former Republican member of the House of Representatives, on Monday to be President Donald Trump's secretary of the Air Force.

U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Nominee Heather Wilson testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee, as a part of the confirmation process in Washington, DC, U.S. on March 30, 2017. Picture taken on March 30, 2017. Scott M. Ash/Courtesy U.S. Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

The vote was 76-22 in favor of Wilson becoming the top civilian overseeing the Air Force. The 22 "no" votes all came from Democrats.

At her confirmation hearing in March, Wilson praised the stealth capability of Lockheed Martin Corp's <LMT.N> F-35 fighter jet, in remarks suggesting the Pentagon's most expensive weapons system would have an important advocate.

A graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and former Rhodes scholar, Wilson, 56, has been president of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology since 2013. She was a House member from New Mexico from 1998 to 2009 and had served on the National Security Council under President George H.W. Bush.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.