Senate Confirms New SMDC Commanding General
Maj. Gen. John L. Rafferty Jr. has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate for promotion to lieutenant general and for assignment as commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, marking another key national security appointment under President Donald J. Trump’s second-term administration.
Rafferty currently serves as chief of staff at U.S. European Command in Germany and brings more than 33 years of leadership and technical experience to the role, with deep expertise in field artillery operations as well as senior command and staff assignments.
His recent leadership posts include commanding general of the 56th Artillery Command, U.S. Army Europe-Africa, Germany; chief of Army Public Affairs in Washington, D.C.; director of the Long Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team at Fort Sill, Oklahoma; executive officer to the director of the Army Staff in Washington, D.C.; and commander of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Throughout his career, Rafferty has supported multiple major military operations, including Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Spartan Shield, and Inherent Resolve, among others.
He succeeds Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, who is retiring after more than 35 years of distinguished military service.
Rafferty’s confirmation comes as Senate Republicans have accelerated the approval of President Trump’s nominees, confirming nearly 100 appointments in a single vote and outpacing both previous administrations and Trump’s own first term.
In a 53–43 vote Thursday, the Senate approved 97 of Trump’s nominees, capping one of the final stretches of floor action following an intense legislative period led by Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., after Republicans regained control of the chamber in January.
During that period, Republicans worked through internal disagreements to pass the president’s signature “one big, beautiful bill” and reopen the government after the longest shutdown in U.S. history, Fox News reported.
Confirmations, however, were not without resistance. Democrats employed blanket objections to slow or block even low-level executive branch nominees, a tactic Republicans said was unprecedented in scope.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said Republicans began the year confirming Trump’s Cabinet at record speed before encountering what he described as systematic obstruction from the Democratic minority.
“We began the year by confirming President Trump’s Cabinet faster than any Senate in modern history,” Barrasso said per Fox. “And by week’s end, President Trump will have 417 nominees confirmed by the Senate this year. That’s far more than the 365 that Joe Biden had in his first year in office.”
In response to the gridlock, Republicans invoked the nuclear option in September, lowering the vote threshold for sub-Cabinet confirmations. Since then, the Senate has approved 417 Trump nominees.
Thune accused Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of engaging in obstruction for purely political reasons by blocking standard fast-track procedures such as voice votes and unanimous consent, Fox added.
“Democrats cannot deal with the fact that the American people elected President Trump, and so they’ve engaged in this pointless political obstruction in revenge,” Thune said.
The confirmation push has dramatically reduced a nominations backlog that had grown to nearly 150 pending candidates over the summer. Only 15 nominees remain unconfirmed.
Among those approved are former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., tapped to serve as inspector general at the Department of Labor, as well as James Murphy and Scott Mayer, nominees to the National Labor Relations Board. Dozens of additional confirmations span nearly every major federal agency.
The Senate is also expected to consider Joshua Simmons, President Trump’s nominee for CIA special counsel, before the end of the week.
At the same time, lawmakers are working to advance a multi-bill spending package combining five appropriations measures. Some Democrats have raised objections to the so-called minibus, creating uncertainty over whether it will reach the Senate floor before month’s end.
Negotiations remain ongoing, with Thune signaling that clearing the nominee package was the immediate priority.
“We’ll see where it goes from there,” Thune said.