China justifies Space Force’s budget, nominee tells lawmakers in smooth confirmation hearing

China’s military advancements justify the Space Force’s $71 billion budget request, the White House nominee to lead the service said during a short and uncontentious Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday.

“I would say that the $71.1 billion that the president has asked for is exactly what we need,” said Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, who currently serves as the deputy chief of space operations for operations at the Pentagon. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it was “needed because of the threat from China and Russia, and the capabilities that the joint forces needs.”

The Space Force’s budget request was thrown into uncertainty earlier this week when House leaders said they would not fully comply with the Trump administration’s proposal to provide much of the money through reconciliation—a partisan-controlled budget maneuver rarely used for defense spending before last year. Under the proposal, reconciliation would have funded some of the service’s most ambitious programs, including the Space Data Network and Golden Dome.

Read more at Defense One