Biden taps Gen. David Allvin for Air Force chief of staff
Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin has been tapped by President Biden to be the top ranking officer in the service amid the holdup on military promotions in the Senate.
Biden’s nomination of Allvin to be Air Force chief of staff was submitted to the Senate on Tuesday, according to a notice from the chamber. The choice has not yet been publicly announced.
If confirmed, Allvin would replace Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., whom Biden picked in May to become the next chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Brown’s nomination last week was approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee. If confirmed by the full Senate, he would become only the second Black man to be chair of the Joint Chiefs after Colin Powell.
Brown’s appointment would also be historic as it would mean that, with Defense Sec. Llyod Austin in his role at the Defense Department, the top two Pentagon officials would be Black men for the first time.
Allvin, meanwhile, has a career that spans the globe with positions in Afghanistan, Germany and at the Pentagon on the Joint Staff.
He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1986 before serving as the commanding general of NATO Air Training Command – Afghanistan; the head of 438th Air Expeditionary Wing, Kabul; commander of 618th Air and Space Operations Center; director of strategy, plans and policy at U.S. European Command; and vice director of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Staff.
He was nominated to be the Air Force vice chief of staff in August, 2020 and confirmed to the role later that year.
Biden last week announced that he picked Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who has been vice chief of naval operations, to be the next chief of naval operations. Franchetti previously was passed over by Austin when he was recommending candidates for the role.
The president’s announcements come as military nominees have been blocked in the Senate.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is preventing the Senate from moving on military promotions in protest of the Pentagon’s abortion policy, which allows for paid leave and travel reimbursement for abortions.
Biden, Austin and top officials have called on Tuberville to end the hold and called on Republicans in the Senate to stop the Alabama Republican, warning that he is putting national security at risk.
Alex Gangitano contributed reporting