Kingsley Wilson, a deputy press secretary at the Department of Defense who has come under fire from Democratic and Republican lawmakers and Jewish communal organizations for promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, has been promoted to serve as the department’s press secretary, the Pentagon announced on Friday. 

“Kingsley’s leadership has been integral to the DoD’s success & we look forward to her continued service to President [Donald] Trump,” Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman and a senior advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, posted on X on Friday. 

When Wilson was named deputy press secretary in March, she faced widespread condemnation for dozens of tweets viewed as antisemitic and racist. On two different occasions, she attacked the Anti-Defamation League for sharing its origin story — the organization was founded after the lynching of Leo Frank, an Atlanta Jew widely believed to have been wrongly convicted of raping and murdering a white child over a century ago. 

“Leo Frank raped and murdered a 13-year-old girl,” Wilson wrote in 2023 in response to a post from the ADL, and repeated the claim a year later. “He also tried to frame a black man for his crime. The ADL is despicable.” (The tweet has not been deleted.) 

Wilson has also called Confederate General Robert E. Lee “one of the greatest Americans to ever live” and regularly promoted the antisemitic “Great Replacement Theory.” 

Her appointment in March drew bipartisan criticism. “Obviously I don’t agree with her comments. I trust the Pentagon will address this,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) told Jewish Insider at the time. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for her firing. 

Spokespeople for the Pentagon and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. 

The Department of Defense formally accepted a luxury Boeing 747 jumbo jet from Qatar for President Donald Trump’s use as Air Force One, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement on Wednesday.

Parnell said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth accepted the jet “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations” and that the Defense Department would “work to ensure proper security measures and functional-mission requirements are considered for an aircraft used to transport the President of the United States.”

The jet will require extensive modifications and security enhancements to be used as Air Force One, which must operate as a mobile command center for the president. Aviation experts estimate the upgrades could cost over $1 billion.

Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said in a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting on Tuesday that the Air Force has already begun exploring the extent of the upgrades required and that he would warn Trump and Hegseth should any concerns arise about the Air Force’s ability to ensure the plane is secure enough.

The Air Force said in a statement to Defense News that it currently has no information about its timeline for modifying the plane.

At a value of $400 million, the jet is one of the most expensive gifts given to a U.S. president. Experts and lawmakers have raised concerns of the transfer potentially violating the Constitution’s anti-bribery emoluments clause.