WASHINGTON – Retired General Lloyd Austin has been confirmed as President Biden’s Pentagon chief, becoming the first African-American defense secretary and overcoming strong confirmation winds from both sides.
The Senate on Friday voted overwhelmingly to confirm Austin, 93-2.
Austin, a four-star general who retired in 2016, needed to get a waiver from Congress to overturn a law that says a defense secretary must wait seven years after active duty to take the top civilian post.
Lawmakers were cautious about granting a second exemption after granting one to President Donald Trump’s first defense secretary, retired general Jim Mattis, but ended up voting for Austin’s confirmation.
Several House Democrats last month asked Austin, the former leader of the U.S. Central Command, to commit to ensuring civilian control of the military.
Biden praised Austin’s leadership and urged Congress to approve the resignation, which the House ended up doing in another 326-78 bipartisan vote on Thursday.
“We need your first-hand knowledge of the immeasurable cost of war and the burden it represents for our service members and their families, to help end eternal wars and ensure that the use of force is the last tool in our box. tools, not the first, ”said Biden earlier this month.
Austin, only the sixth African American to hold the post of four-star general in the Army and the first to lead an Army corps in combat, is a historic Pentagon chief, but he was not the first choice for the role.
Pentagon veteran Michele Flournoy, who served as undersecretary of defense in President Barack Obama’s administration and undersecretary of defense in Bill Clinton’s administration, was considered Biden’s first choice and would have been the first woman to command the Pentagon.
Democrats sens. John Tester of Montana and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut last month spoke out against granting a resignation to Austin and were among 17 Senate Democrats who voted against doing the same for Mattis in 2017.
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he would vote to confirm Austin, calling him “a clear patriot with an impressive career,” but warned Congress against continuing to ignore the resignation.
“This is not just a simplistic fear that the military will end up in control. On the contrary, many experts fear that the proper fixation of military leaders to be apolitical does not prepare them to fight vigorously for our Armed Forces in the midst of political conflicts in the Executive and here in Congress, ”said McConnell.
Austin is the second member of Biden’s cabinet to be confirmed, following the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines.