Air Force secretary is stepping down

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson is resigning to become president of the University of Texas at El Paso, the Pentagon confirmed today

Wilson’s resignation is effective May 31, an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement, adding that “this will allow sufficient time for a smooth transition.”

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A Rhodes Scholar and graduate of the Air Force Academy, Wilson served seven years as an Air Force officer and spent a decade in Congress representing New Mexico.

“I am proud of the progress that we have made in restoring out nation’s defense,” Wilson said in a statement released by the Air Force. “We have cut years out of acquisition schedules and gotten better prices through competition; we have repealed hundreds of superfluous regulations; and we have strengthened our ability to deter and dominate in space.”

Wilson had been floated as a candidate to be the next Defense secretary. Several lawmakers, including two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, publicly called on President Donald Trump to consider Wilson for the job, now held on acting basis by Pat Shanahan, a former Boeing executive.

An advocate for keeping space missions within the Air Force, Wilson had clashed with Trump over his desire to create an independent Space Force outside the service. But her view prevailed in the administration’s legislative proposal for the new service, which asked to establish the new branch under the Air Force.