Austin confirmed as defense secretary

By Tony Bertuca / January 22, 2021 at 11:05 AM

Retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin has been confirmed as the next defense secretary by the Senate with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 93-2.

Austin, who becomes the first black U.S. defense secretary, received a waiver from Congress yesterday allowing him to serve. The waiver was required because he has been retired from the military for fewer than seven years.

A similar waiver was granted for retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Mattis in 2017. Prior to Mattis, the waiver had only been granted once since 1950.

The Senate vote to approve Austin's waiver was 69-27, far closer than his confirmation vote, while the House voted 326-78 for the waiver.

Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said "valid concerns were raised about providing another waiver so soon."

But Reed said Austin, at his confirmation hearing this week, committed to protecting civilian leadership at the Pentagon.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he could not "think of a better person to take the helm."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said he would support Austin in the hopes the retired general would play "an active role in the inherently political budget process to get our forces what they need."

Mattis was criticized in the past for being too lightly involved in the budget process and many progressive Democrats say they want to significantly cut defense spending.

During his confirmation hearing this week, Austin promised to surround himself with "experienced, capable civilians."

He also promised to "rebalance collaboration and coordination" between the Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense "to ensure civilian input is integrated at every level of the process."

Austin is expected to arrive at the Pentagon as early as today.

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