Senate confirms Schiess to lead Space Force

Schiess, in uniform, testifies at a Senate hearing.

Deputy Chief of Space Operations Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess testifies during a Senate hearing on July 16, 2026, at the Dirksen Building in Washington, D.C. (Andy Morataya/U.S. Air Force)

By SVETLANA SHKOLNIKOVA
STARS AND STRIPES

Published August 7, 2026 ·

WASHINGTON — The Senate has confirmed Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess to serve as the next chief of space operations, elevating him to the Space Force’s highest-ranking officer.

He was confirmed to the role and the rank of four-star general in a voice vote Thursday night. Schiess is set to succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman, who is expected to retire in the coming months.

Schiess will become just the third chief of space operations since the Space Force was established as the sixth military branch in 2019. He has served as deputy chief for operations since 2025.

His nomination to the top post sailed through the Senate Armed Services Committee. Just six senators attended his confirmation hearing last month — an indication of the panel’s “confidence in you,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said.

Schiess will take over the Space Force as it seeks to nearly double its budget for 2027. The Trump administration’s $71 billion funding request for the service is “exactly what we need,” Schiess told senators.

The money will largely be spent on new weapons, facilities and training capabilities, he said.

The service is also looking to hire an additional 2,000 civilians after nearly 14% of its civilian employees left amid the administration’s push last year to shrink the federal workforce.

“That was a significant cut to us, but we are working to bring those back,” Schiess said. He noted that Space Systems Command, the acquisition command, is trying to hire 100 civilians a month.

Before serving as the Space Force’s deputy chief of operations, Schiess led U.S. Space Forces-Space and commanded at the squadron, group, wing, joint component and field command levels.

He joined the Air Force in 1992 and transferred to the Space Force in 2022.

At his confirmation hearing, Schiess said the space domain is becoming increasingly contested by China and, to a lesser degree, Russia. The next major conflict could start in space, he said.

“But if not, definitely space would be at the very beginning of any conflict,” he said.

Svetlana Shkolnikova covers Congress for Stars and Stripes. She previously worked as a reporter for The Record newspaper in New Jersey and the USA Today Network. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland and has reported from Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia and Ukraine.

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