Updated: December 8, 2020 8:14:09 am
Austin, 67, was the head of the U.S. Central Command from 2013 to 2016 under President Barack Obama, succeeding Mattis in that key military troop-monitoring role in a region that includes Iraq, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate retired Army General Lloyd Austin as defense secretary, according to two people familiar with the decision, making him the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.
Austin has already had a career marked by the first, including as the first black general to command American forces in the Middle East.
Austin’s election came as Biden was under pressure from African-American legislators and organizations to deliver on his promise to produce the most diverse cabinet in American history. Biden’s transition office declined to comment on his decision Monday night before an announcement.
In addition to winning Senate confirmation, Austin would need Congress to waive a law that requires military officers to be retired for seven years before serving as secretaries of defense. Lawmakers have said they would be reluctant to grant another waiver after making one for retired Marine Corps General Jim Mattis, President Donald Trump’s first secretary of defense.
Michele Flournoy, a former Pentagon official who would have been the first Defense Secretary, was an early favorite for the job, but Biden considered Austin and former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, who is also black, at the urging of Rep. James. Clyburn of South Carolina, a close Biden supporter, according to one of the people. Politico reported the previous Monday on Biden’s election of Austin.
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Austin, 67, was the head of the U.S. Central Command from 2013 to 2016 under President Barack Obama, succeeding Mattis in that key military troop-monitoring role in a region that includes Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. .
When Austin was appointed to head Centcom, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the general had “calm demeanor, strategic vision, regional knowledge and experience, and proven judgment.” But critics complained that Austin rarely answered questions or shared his thoughts publicly.
Austin’s role in overseeing the military campaign to defeat the Islamic State terrorists put him in jeopardy over a $ 500 million effort to train and equip forces in Syria. Under congressional questioning, Austin acknowledged that at one point only “four or five” US-trained Syrian rebels were actually in Syria.
Republicans and Democrats criticized the results of the program, which was intended to produce a force of 5,400 by December 2015.
The resistance in Congress to Austin’s nomination is likely due in large part to doubts about undermining the restriction on putting a recently retired military man in a job designed to ensure civilian control of the military.
“After four years of chaotic civil-military dynamics and military politicization, I see no advantage in placing a retired general officer at the top of an institution that desperately needs a civil-military reboot,” said Loren DeJonge Schulman, defense analyst. , on Twitter on November 26. “We need strong military leadership and strong civilian leadership. They are different “.
Senators are also expected to pressure Austin, who sits on the board of directors of Raytheon Technologies Corp., one of the Pentagon’s top contractors, to refrain from making decisions involving the company and any other defense firm for which it worked as the owner of Austin Strategy Group. LLC, which he founded in 2016.
When the general retired, Obama said that Austin oversaw “military operations in one of the most demanding regions in the world” and that he “relied on his wise judgment and strong leadership to help me overcome the many challenges we encounter there.”
Austin is originally from Thomasville, Georgia, and attended the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also has a Master of Education from Auburn University and an MBA from Webster University.
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