Washington – The Senate confirmed retired General Lloyd J. Austin as the Secretary of Defense Friday, putting the first Black American in charge of the Pentagon …
Washington – The Senate confirmed retired General Lloyd J. Austin as the Secretary of Defense Friday, putting the first Black American in charge of the Pentagon by a vote of 93-2. Austin also worked with Biden’s late son, Beau, who served on the general’s staff in Iraq, attended Mass with him, and stayed in touch following their deployments, before Beau Biden died of a brain tumor in 2015 — an important bond with Biden, according to the On Thursday, the House and the Senate approved a waiver on the legal prohibition of a military officer serving as secretary of defense within seven years of retirement. The law was enacted in July 1947 and signed by President Harry Truman. Austin is only the third general to be given a waiver to serve as defense secretary. The Congress has given waivers twice before – 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. In December, when Biden first announced his choice of Austin to head up the Defense Department, he said that he considered him “the person we need at this moment,” and that he trusted Austin to ensure civilian control of the military. And Austin promised the Senate during his hearing that he would “surround himself with qualified civilians.” Nominated by @POTUS and voted on by the Senate, Lloyd J. Austin III has become the 28th confirmed Defense Secretary and will lead the dedicated men and women of the U.S. armed forces. Austin also assured the Senators he was fully behind Biden’s early focus on He also pledged to address white supremacy and violent extremism in the ranks of the military, something that was overlooked by the previous administration.
