During a brief, non‑contentious Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, the nominee to lead the U.S. Space Force argued that recent Chinese military advances justify the service’s $71 billion budget request.
Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, the current deputy chief of space operations for operations at the Pentagon, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, “I would say that the $71.1 billion the president has requested is exactly what we need.” He added that the funding is essential to counter threats from China and Russia and to meet the joint forces’ capability requirements.
Earlier this week, the Space Force’s budget faced new uncertainty when House leaders indicated they would not fully support the Trump administration’s plan to fund much of the request through reconciliation—a rare, partisan‑controlled budget process for defense spending. Under that plan, reconciliation would have financed key programs such as the Space Data Network and Golden Dome.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R‑Miss.) told Schiess that the service is currently underfunded but would be adequately resourced if Congress enacted the Trump administration’s budget request. The three‑star general concurred.
The White House announced in April that Schiess would become the next chief of space operations, a move first reported by Defense One. He will succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman, who announced his retirement next month during a recent ceremony in London.
In written testimony, Schiess emphasized that the service’s budget, personnel, and platforms must expand to support major joint operations. He noted that U.S. space forces have been hailed as “first movers” in recent conflicts, including the Iran war and critical operations in Venezuela.
The most pressing challenge, Schiess wrote, is “balancing urgent readiness for a contested space environment today with the modernization needed to prevail tomorrow.” He warned that adversaries are rapidly deploying counterspace capabilities designed to jeopardize U.S. and allied satellites, and are constructing space‑enabled kill chains that threaten the Joint Force.
Should he be confirmed, Schiess outlined that his first year would center on enhancing combat readiness, advancing operational testing, expanding launch infrastructure, and enlarging facilities.
The Space Force has planned more than 100 national security space launches over the next five years, and a recent service planning document forecasts that its two primary launch bases will conduct up to 3,000 commercial and military launches annually by 2036.
Schiess identified his top priority as “scaling to meet the unprecedented rise in launch tempo and the exponential growth of commercial missions,” noting that super‑heavylift rockets will “unlock new possibilities for the Space Force.”
Schiess affirmed in both written and oral testimony that he “would have no hesitation” in offering his best military advice, even when it diverges from the opinions of the Chairman, other Joint Chiefs members, the Secretary of War, the President, or other leaders.
This fundamental duty has faced strain during the second Trump administration, according to Kori Schake of AEI, an expert on civil‑military relations. She told The Atlantic that Pentagon political leaders “have created a command climate that penalizes honest military assessments on topics where the military is expert and civilians are not,” warning, “That’s very dangerous. That’s how you lose wars.”
Only six senators questioned Schiess during the roughly 40‑minute hearing, indicating a largely smooth process. Senator Angus King (I‑Maine) told the nominee that the low number of questions suggests the committee’s confidence, which bodes well for his confirmation.
King remarked, “The fact that we didn’t have a large turnout is an indication, I believe, of the committee’s confidence in you.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D‑Conn.) added, “Being non‑controversial is not a bad thing.”
