Rep. considers AF secretary post

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger all but threw his hat in the ring for Air Force secretary on Saturday, saying he would “strongly consider” it if President Donald Trump made the offer. The speculation follows Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson’s announcement she will resign at the end of May to become president of the University of Texas at El Paso. “If the president would determine … he wanted (me) to lead the Air Force, I would certainly strongly consider it,” Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said in a Fox News interview on last weekend. “I like my job now,” he said but felt “new generation leadership” would be great for the service, and that as a member of an air national guard unit, he understands the pilot shortage the AF is facing. The 41-year-old would be notable for being the first Iraq War veteran nominated to serve as an armed service secretary. He flies the RC-26 surveillance plane for the Wisconsin Air National Guard, and recently deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, and now supports Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to use Defense Department funding to build a wall there. Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Donovan is also seen as a contender, at least in an acting capacity. Donovan is a former F-15 pilot and policy director for the Senate Armed Services Committee under its late chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (Source: Defense News 04/27/19)