Senate confirms Army general to lead vaccine effort
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Army Gen. Gustave Perna to help lead the Trump administration's effort to develop and distribute a coronavirus vaccine by early next year.
Perna, a logistician, was tapped by President Donald Trump in May to be chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, the administration's vaccine effort. The four-star general is head of Army Materiel Command based at Alabama's Redstone Arsenal.
Optimism on a vaccine: Perna told senators at his June confirmation hearing that he's more optimistic now about the prospects of developing and mass-producing a vaccine by next year than when he was first tapped. He said he initially saw it as "an aspirational goal" but now sees it as "more and more likely to occur."
He also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he would not commit to working in tandem with China as part of a vaccine effort.
Running the blockade: Perna was the only senior military nominee exempted from a blockade by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) of military promotions. Duckworth has threatened to hold up more than 1,000 promotions for senior military officers until Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirms that the promotion of Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified in the House impeachment inquiry against Trump, will move forward.
Other nominees confirmed: The Senate also confirmed several nominees to sit on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
