The new Senate was sworn in Tuesday at noon, and official decisions regarding committee composition and staffing will be made throughout January.
Though the Senate has not officially approved Senate Armed Services Committee leadership or membership yet, congressional staff has confirmed that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will take over as chairman now that the Republicans have taken control of the Senate. The Senate will formally approve his chairmanship later this week.
The committee has already updated its membership page to reflect McCain as the chairman, as well as Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) as the ranking member. Reed previously served as the seapower subcommittee chairman.
The membership page also shows several new committee members: Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Joni Ernst (R -Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).
Cotton served in the Army for nearly five years as an infantry officer, deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan and serving in The Old Guard at Arlington National Cemetery. Ernst, a lieutenant colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard, has served for more than two decades, including a deployment to Iraq at the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Sullivan has served in the Marine Corps Reserve since 1997 after serving four years as an active duty Marine.
Once the committee leadership and membership is set later this week, additional decisions can be made regarding committee staffing. Subcommittee assignments and leadership appointments will be made later this month, a congressional staffer said.
Chris Brose, who currently serves as McCain’s national security adviser, will serve as the SASC majority staff director, McCain spokesman Dustin Walker said. Brose was previously a senior editor at Foreign Policy, and before that a speechwriter and policy adviser for the State Department.
Walker, the founding editor of RealClearDefense, joined McCain’s personal staff this week as deputy communications director for defense.