President Trump nominates North Texas senator as assistant secretary of defense
President Donald Trump has nominated state Sen. Brian Birdwell, a Granbury Republican, to serve as an assistant secretary of defense.
Birdwell announced in June that he wasn’t seeking reelection in 2026. The longtime North Texas senator was first elected to the Senate in a June 2010 special election.
A spokesperson for Birdwell did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the nomination.
Presidential appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.
Birdwell represents Senate District 22, which includes Bosque, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Falls, Hamilton, Hill, Hood, McLennan and Somervell counties, as well as portions of Ellis and Tarrant counties. He serves chair of the Senate’s Border Security and Natural Resources committees. He’s also a member of the Nominations, State Affairs and Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs committees.
Before his time in the Texas Legislative, Birdwell served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. His military career included a 1990 deployment to Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star for Exceptional Meritorious Achievement, and a 1998 deployment to Central America for humanitarian relief operations after Hurricane Mitch, according to his Senate biography.
He was working for the Army at the Pentagon in 2001 and was injured in the September 11 attack on the facility. He was awarded a Purple Heart and when he retired, a Legion of Merit, according to his biography.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who serves as president of the Texas Senate, congratulated Birdwell in a Wednesday social media post.
“He is truly one of the greatest senators ever to serve Texas. He is respected by all members for his work ethic, boldness, and kindness,” Patrick said. Later continuing that, “A soldier at heart, I know he will give his all and serve our country honorably in his next mission as Assistant Secretary of Defense.”
