Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in 2016. Officials say Wilson has resigned. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson, who clashed with the White House over the creation of a Space Force before briefly taking on a leadership role in the nascent program, announced her resignation Friday.
Wilson, 58, is leaving to become the next president of the University of Texas at El Paso.
Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokeswoman, said Wilson's resignation will take effect May 31 to "allow sufficient time for a smooth transition." No successor has been named.
"It has been a privilege to serve alongside our Airmen over the past two years and I am proud of the progress that we have made restoring our nation's defense," Wilson said. "We have improved the readiness of the force; we have cut years out of acquisition schedules and gotten better prices through competition; we have repealed hundreds of superfluous regulations; and we have strengthened our ability to deter and dominate in space."
The former congresswoman had been touted as a possible candidate to replace former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who resigned after President Trump announced a pullout of U.S. troops in Syria.
Patrick Shanahan is now serving as Mattis' successor in an acting capacity.
Wilson butted heads with the White House -- and Shanahan -- over Trump’s desire create a Space Force as a sixth branch of the military.
She fought to keep the Space Force as part of the Air Force and appeared to have won that fight with administration officials and the National Security Council.
Trump met Wilson in the Oval Office on Thursday, with Shanahan also in the meeting, according to reports.
Wilson's appointment to become UTEP's next president was approved by the University of Texas System Board of Regents in a unanimous vote, KTSM-TV reported.
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Wilson was confirmed by the Senate in May 2017, making her Trump's first service secretary.
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She served in Congress from 1998 to 2009, representing New Mexico. She also had previously served as president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City.
Fox News' Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
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