Overview
- The White House has formally submitted Jules “Jay” Hurst’s nomination to the Senate to be the Pentagon’s Senate-confirmed comptroller, with action by the Senate still pending.
- Hurst has served in the job in an acting capacity since August 2025 and led the rollout of the fiscal 2027 budget request that totals $1.5 trillion.
- The request splits $1.15 trillion into the base defense budget and places $350 billion in a separate reconciliation bill to give the Pentagon more timing flexibility and to fund one-time increases.
- Hurst has said the administration used reconciliation to back fast-changing technology programs such as Golden Dome and the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group, and he warned the Pentagon will revisit the request with the White House and Congress if reconciliation is not enacted.
- Hurst’s résumé includes senior Pentagon personnel roles and Hill experience as a legislative director and defense adviser to Rep. Mike Johnson, and his nomination follows the White House’s earlier withdrawal of Jeffrey Bornstein from consideration.