WASHINGTON — Matthew Lohmeier, President Trump’s nominee for undersecretary of the Department of the Air Force, faced pointed questioning during his confirmation hearing May 1 before the Senate Armed Services Committee, as Democrats expressed concerns about his fitness for the second-highest civilian position overseeing the Air Force and Space Force.
Lohmeier, a former Space Force lieutenant colonel who was removed from command in 2021 after publicly criticizing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the military, told senators he would push for a politically neutral military while sidestepping criticism over his past public remarks.
“I speak the language of both the Air Force and the Space Force,” Lohmeier told the committee. “I am air minded and space minded. I understand the necessity of United States superiority in both of those war fighting domains. Space in particular, is a strategic domain. It is a theater where we pursue many objectives, and where the United States must prevail.”
The position Lohmeier seeks would help shape policy for approximately 700,000 active-duty, National Guard, reserves and civilian personnel within the Department of the Air Force.
Committee members appeared sharply divided along party lines, with Republicans supporting Lohmeier’s nomination while Democrats questioned his suitability based on past statements.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the committee, voiced strong opposition: “I have deep concerns about your fitness to represent these men and women. While I appreciate your past military service, your record of troubling conduct in uniform, extreme partisanship, and animosity toward military members with whom you disagree politically is, in my view, disqualifying to be undersecretary.”
Some Democratic senators read aloud Lohmeier’s previous public comments that suggested he might seek retribution against officers who supported DEI programs if confirmed to the position.
Lohmeier during the hearing sought to distance his current nomination from those past statements, and argued that his views as a private citizen should not disqualify him from returning to public service.
He added that he did not anticipate returning to public service when he made those comments and asked that they not be used to evaluate his suitability for a civilian leadership post.
“I reserve the right to be wrong about any of my views,” Lohmeier said. “I believe private citizens have the right to express their views, as mean or as wrong as they might be.”
Lohmeier insisted his intent as undersecretary of the Air Force, if confirmed, is to remove “political distractions” from military activities. “I share this committee’s commitment to an apolitical military,” he said. “We should focus on the mission.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) countered that the undersecretary position “should not be a platform for ideology or grievance. It’s a demanding leadership position that’s responsible for overseeing a budget, personnel, and institutional integrity.”
If confirmed, Lohmeier pledged to advocate for increased funding for the air and space military branches, noting that “combatant commanders are calling for more air and space power capacity, not less.”
The hearing also featured testimony from Justin Overbaugh, nominated to be deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, and Daniel Zimmerman, nominated as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs. Neither nominee faced the same level of scrutiny as Lohmeier.
