Senate Confirms First Openly Gay Leader of a U.S. Military Service

(WASHINGTON) — The Senate has confirmed the long-stalled nomination of Eric Fanning to be Army secretary, making him the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military service.

The voice vote approval on Tuesday came after Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts dropped his opposition to Fanning in a dispute over Obama administration efforts to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transfer detainees to the U.S.