Senate Quickly Confirms Biden's Controversial Defense Secretary Pick
Retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin won Senate confirmation on Friday to become President Joe Biden’s secretary of defense.
The 93-2 vote gave Biden his second Cabinet member; Avril Haines was confirmed on Wednesday as director of national intelligence.
Biden is expected to get approval for others on his national security team in coming days, including Antony Blinken as secretary of state.
Austin’s confirmation was complicated by his recent retirement from the Army. He required a waiver of a legal prohibition on a military officer serving as secretary of defense within seven years of retirement.
Austin retired in 2016 after serving as the head of U.S. Central Command. He became the vice chief of staff of the Army in 2012 and also served as director of the Joint Staff.
The House and the Senate approved the waiver on Thursday, clearing the way for the Senate confirmation vote.
As vice president, Biden worked closely with Austin in 2010-11 while Austin was the top U.S. commander in Baghdad.
Biden called Austin “the person we need at this moment” when he announced him as his nominee in December.
Critics of the nomination have questioned the wisdom of making an exception to the law against a recently retired military officer serving as defense secretary. The prohibition was put in place to guard against undue military influence in national security matters.
Only twice before has Congress waived the prohibition — in 1950 for George C. Marshall during the Korean War and in 2017 for Jim Mattis, the retired Marine general who served as President Donald Trump’s first Pentagon chief.
Austin said at his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he is willing to aid in the COVID-19 vaccination effort.
“I will quickly review the department’s contributions to coronavirus relief efforts, ensuring we are doing everything we can — and then some — to help distribute vaccines across the country and to vaccinate our troops and preserve readiness,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Austin also pledged to address white supremacy and violent extremism in the military and “rid our ranks of racists.”
“The Defense Department’s job is to keep America safe from our enemies,” he said. “But we can’t do that if some of those enemies lie within our own ranks.”
He offered glimpses of other policy priorities, indicating that he agrees with many in Congress that China is the “pacing challenge,” or the leading national security problem for the U.S.
The Middle East was the main focus for Austin during much of his Army career, particularly when he reached senior officer ranks.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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