Samantha CrookThe U.S. Senate confirmed the first openly gay Army secretary on Tuesday.
Eric Fanning was nominated in 2015. But a vote to confirm that nomination was stalled for months, due to Republican Sen. Pat Roberts' opposition to the Obama administration's efforts to move prisoners from Guantánamo Bay to the U.S.
This is a first for the U.S., but this isn't entirely new for Fanning. He's been the acting secretary of the Army since the end of last year, and he's served in leadership roles in multiple military branches, including the U.S. Navy and the Air Force.
Up until the beginning of last year, Fanning was the under secretary of the Air Force and served as its acting secretary in 2013.
This video includes images from Getty Images and a clip from C-SPAN.
