President Donald Trump this week nominated Texas Sen. Brian Birdwell to serve as an assistant secretary of defense, the White House announced Tuesday.
The Granbury Republican currently oversees a Texas legislative committee that hears border and homeland security proposals.
Birdwell served as Johnson County’s representative until 2023, when redistricting changed the county to Senate District 10. Phil King is now Johnson County’s senator.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the move would be a return to the Pentagon for Birdwell, a six-term state senator who suffered severe burns when a plane crashed yards away from his office during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. At the time he worked at the time as Department of the Army staff. His 20-year career in the Army also included operational and training deployments.
Birdwell announced in June that he did not intend to seek reelection to the Legislature’s upper chamber.
After serving his nation in the U.S. Army, Birdwell was elected to the Texas Senate in a 2010 special election. Birdwell was a staff officer at the Pentagon on 9/11 when American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed into the building. Over 60% of his body was severely burned, and he endured 39 operations to rebuild his body.
Birdwell was awarded the Bronze Star for service in the Persian Gulf War, the Purple Heart for his wounds at the Pentagon, and upon retirement in July 2004, he was awarded the Legion of Merit.
Birdwell and his wife, Mel, authored “Refined by Fire: A Family’s Triumph of Love and Faith,” which tells their story of survival. From 2004-17, they operated Face the Fire Ministries, a nonprofit organization they jointly founded to support critical burn survivors and wounded servicemembers and their families.
Even as a public servant, Birdwell continued to share how faith in Christ sustained the family during their long ordeal following the 9/11 attack. In 2011, Birdwell agreed to share his story in an “I Am Second” video testimonial which has been viewed more than 100,000 times.