Troy Meink, principal deputy director for the National Reconnaissance Office, testifies before Congress on May 1, 2024. (DVIDS)
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has picked Troy Meink, currently the principal deputy director for the National Reconnaissance Office, to serve as the next secretary of the Air Force.
“Troy will work with our incredible Secretary of Defense Nominee, Pete Hegseth, to ensure that our Nation’s Air Force is the most effective and deadly force in the World, as we secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, the social media app he owns.
Meink comes with a deep background in government service, including in the Air Force, which he entered through ROTC in 1988. In contrast to some other service secretary picks, Meink is a well-known figure in Washington circles, including after having served as the deputy under secretary of the Air Force for space in the Obama administration. Meink was tapped for his current role at the NRO in 2020.
The selection of Meink, first reported by Aviation Week, suggests that space will be a focus for the next administration, following warnings from outgoing Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall that the heavens have now become a warfighting domain. Meink has worked closely with the Space Force during his NRO term, for example on the joint SILENTBARKER space domain awareness satellite program and on issues related to acquisition of commercial space imagery.
Meink did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the NRO said the spy agency had “no information to provide” when asked about Meink’s nomination.
Assuming all nominees will be confirmed, Trump has now completed filling out the ranks for service secretaries. The Pentagon is expected to be led by Hegseth, the former Fox News host and Army National Guard officer, despite a contentious confirmation hearing.
As the top civilian overseeing both the Air Force and Space Force, Meink will inherit big decisions like the fate of a next-generation stealth fighter, as well as pressures to ramp up spending for space programs. He will also oversee lucrative contracts for critical space efforts where top Trump ally Elon Musk’s SpaceX dominates.
Though Trump didn’t announce it in the post about Meink, Aviation Week and Defense One reported today that the incoming president is eyeing Matthew Lohmeier to be the next Air Force under secretary. Lohmeier is a former Space Force lieutenant colonel who was fired from command in May 2021 after authoring a book that alleges “Marxist” ideologies are spreading through the military.
The firebrand lieutenant colonel’s reported selection raises some questions about the longevity of the current commander of US Space Command, Gen. Stephen Whiting, who in his former role as head of Space Operations Command relieved Lohmeier of command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo.
Lohmeier would take over from Melissa Dalton, who was confirmed as the service’s No. 2 official in May 2024.
Valerie Insinna contributed reporting.
