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Washington • President Donald Trump will nominate former New Mexico Rep. Heather Wilson as the civilian head of the Air Force, passing over Utah's Rep. Chris Stewart, who was in the running for the job.
Trump announced Monday that Wilson, now president of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, was his choice as the secretary of the Air Force. She will, if confirmed, be the first Air Force Academy graduate to lead that branch of the military.
"Heather Wilson is going to make an outstanding Secretary of the Air Force," Trump said in a statement. "Her distinguished military service, high level of knowledge, and success in so many different fields gives me great confidence that she will lead our nation's Air Force with the greatest competence and integrity."
Trump's team had considered Stewart, a former Air Force major, for the spot, according to those familiar with the transition's planning.
Utah lawmakers, concerned that state law was unclear on how to replace a House member who resigns his or her seat, had begun to look at a legislative fix. State law now allows the governor to call for a special election to fill a congressional seat but does not spell out how to narrow the field, potentially leaving all the details — including whether there would be primary elections — up to the governor.
Trump has eyed some other Utahns for top posts in his new administration. There remain hundreds of positions he has yet to fill.
The new president tapped Rob Porter, Sen. Orrin Hatch's chief of staff, to be an assistant to the president and White House staff secretary, overseeing all paperwork and meetings that go on in the Oval Office.
Porter was among the group of senior aides that Trump swore into office Sunday.