China is fielding hypersonic missiles engineered to defeat our defenses, Russia just deployed the Oreshnik – a Mach 10 weapon with range to strike anywhere in Europe – and the Army's command responsible for defending the American homeland against both of them spent months without a confirmed leader because Chuck Schumer decided Trump's nominees deserved unprecedented obstruction.
That ended last week.
The Senate confirmed Major General John Rafferty, Jr, promoting him to lieutenant general and assigning him as the new commanding general of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command – the organization that stands between American cities and incoming ballistic missiles.
The Lieutenant General With 33 Years of Combat Experience Schumer Called Historically Bad
Rafferty didn't stumble into this command.
He started his Army career in 1987 as an enlisted indirect fire infantryman – the guys who calculate trajectories and put steel on targets.
After earning his commission, he led a platoon in the 82nd Airborne, served as a fire support officer with the 75th Ranger Regiment, took command of a field artillery battalion inside the 82nd Airborne's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, and then commanded the 18th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg.
Then the Army handed him what was at the time its single highest modernization priority: director of the Long Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team at Fort Sill.
That team's job was to build the systems needed to outrange and outgun China and Russia before the next war starts.
He ran it for nearly four years, earned two promotions during that stretch – from colonel to brigadier general, then to major general – and delivered the groundwork for systems including the Extended Range Cannon Artillery and the Precision Strike Missile.
Most recently he served as chief of staff at U.S. European Command in Germany, sitting at the center of America's response to Russia's war in Europe.
That's the man Schumer's blanket obstruction swept into a confirmation backlog alongside hundreds of others.
The Army Missile Defense Post Schumer Left Vacant While Russia Deployed Hypersonic Weapons
SMDC isn't a desk job.
The command runs the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system – the interceptors stationed in Alaska and California designed to knock down ballistic missiles before they reach American soil.
It recently expanded its mission to cover the full spectrum of homeland air and missile defense, taking on counter-drone operations and defense of the National Capital Region after the 32nd and 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Commands were reassigned to SMDC in October 2025.
China and Russia aren't waiting.
The 2025 Worldwide Threat Assessment confirmed both countries are aggressively fielding hypersonic glide vehicles specifically engineered to fly below traditional missile defense altitude and defeat systems like the ones SMDC operates.
Russia positioned the Oreshnik in Belarus – a hypersonic weapon Putin himself says can defeat U.S. defenses and reach any target in Europe.
China unveiled new hypersonic anti-ship and cruise missile systems in 2025.
This is the threat environment SMDC's commander wakes up to every morning, and the post sat leaderless while Schumer ran his obstruction campaign.
The Senate Confirmation Schumer Fought: Combat Patches From Four Theaters, Zero Apologies
Schumer's defining line throughout 2025 was that Trump's nominees were "historically bad" – unqualified, compromised, deserving of the unprecedented scrutiny Democrats were providing.
Rafferty supported combat operations in four theaters: Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, Spartan Shield, and Inherent Resolve.
He spent his career building the weapons America needs to stay ahead of China and Russia.
The Senate confirmed him – along with 97 other nominees in the same vote – on a 53-43 party-line tally, the third batch confirmed since Republicans changed the chamber's rules last fall to break Schumer's blockade.
Democrats had made Trump the first president in recorded history without a single nominee confirmed by voice vote or unanimous consent.
His confirmation is done. His change of command is scheduled for spring.
China and Russia noticed we had a leadership gap at the command that watches the skies for incoming missiles – and Schumer is the reason it lasted as long as it did.
Sources:
- Martin Walsh, "Senate Confirms New SMDC Commanding General," Conservative Brief, February 23, 2026.
- Alex Miller, "Trump gets 417 nominees confirmed by Senate in 2025, surpasses Biden's first-year total in record pace," Fox News, December 19, 2025.
- Washington Times Staff, "Senate Republicans confirmed 417 Trump nominees this year, exceeding expectations after rule change," Washington Times, December 23, 2025.
- John Barrasso, "Senate Republicans are Determined to Overcome Senate Democrats' Confirmation Obstruction," Senator John Barrasso Official Site, September 15, 2025.
- Breaking Defense Staff, "Army's Space and Missile Defense Command expands homeland defense mission," Breaking Defense, October 15, 2025.
- Washington Times Staff, "U.S. racing to build space weapons to counter anti-satellite power of China and Russia," Washington Times, February 11, 2026.
