In the wake of a recent, high-profile operation in Venezuela this month, two pivotal military nominees appeared before senators today, maintaining a conspicuous silence on their future plans and strategies. The confirmation hearings were marked by extreme caution from the nominees, frustrating members of the Senate Armed Services Committee who pressed for more substantive disclosures.
Legislative Frustration: A Call for Candor
Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., directly challenged the generals at one point, urging them to speak freely. “It’s okay for you two gentlemen, to tell us how you feel,” Wicker stated, “We realize that you haven’t been confirmed yet, but so far, we really haven’t received any answers about how you feel about the responsibilities you’re about to take on. It’s okay to tell us, and actually would be helpful.” These comments underscore a period of heightened tension between the Pentagon and Congress, alongside internal departmental frictions.
Wicker’s remarks were directed at Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis Donovan, currently serving as the vice commander of the United States Special Operations Command and nominated to lead US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), and Army Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd, deputy commander for Indo-Pacific Command, slated to become the next National Security Agency (NSA) director and commander of Cyber Command (CYBERCOM).
Controversial Legacies: Stepping into Vacant Leadership Roles
Both generals, coming from different operational communities than their proposed new assignments, are also nominated to fill posts previously held by leaders who were either fired or resigned early last year. At SOUTHCOM, Adm. Alvin Holsey announced his plans to step down in October, just as the U.S. military began increasing its interdictions of small boats in the Caribbean Sea. CYBERCOM and the NSA have operated without a Senate-confirmed leader since April 2025, following the previous administration’s dismissal of Gen. Timothy Haugh.
For over two hours, the two three-star generals largely hesitated to publicly disclose how they would approach their new roles, including potential requirements for additional assets in the Western Hemisphere or the development of an offensive cyber deterrence policy. Nevertheless, they did offer a few insights.
Donovan’s Outlook for SOUTHCOM: Relationships, Resources, and Soft Power Concerns
Regarding SOUTHCOM, General Donovan expressed his desire to build and expand military-to-military relationships in the region to “increase regional security,” while also scrutinizing any potential reductions to soft power levers such as foreign aid. “I am concerned about any drops in any of the tools that would be available to combatant commanders to address a range of issues,” he added.
While Donovan provided no direct answers on ongoing Caribbean operations targeting small vessels or plans for Venezuela, he indicated that recent operations and the National Security Strategy’s pivot towards the Western Hemisphere clearly signal a need for additional resources for SOUTHCOM. “The first step is to do analysis of the capability of the SOUTHCOM headquarters and really build on the strength,” he said. “The concern now is, as we have additional physical assets in places, is the headquarters staffed, structured to maintain sustained logistics and supply and all the basics underpinnings of military capability?… Are we a headquarters capable of bringing those capabilities together? And I believe we’re going to get there,” Donovan concluded.
CYBERCOM and NSA: Operational Drive and the ‘Dual-Hat’ Advantage
For his part, General Rudd acknowledged his non-technical background, emphasizing his reliance on his team for technical breadth while aiming to further operationalize CYBERCOM. “Where I sit right now, I bring a deep, mission driven understanding of the challenges… integrating the capabilities across the joint force in all domains,” Rudd informed the senators.
“That understanding, that perspective from the joint warfighter, principally in INDOPACOM in the recent history, but throughout my career in a number of other theaters… [and] there’s an increasing relationship in what we call the soft space cyber triad, those interdependence between those commands, those capabilities, to deliver what our nation needs,” he further elaborated. A key point of support from Rudd today was the continuation of the dual-hatting arrangement for the NSA director and CYBERCOM chief, which he lauded as an avenue for “effectiveness as well as efficiency” to “harness and integrate the incredible capabilities of both those organizations.
