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REUTERS: On Wednesday (Dec. 9) President-elect Joe Biden will formally present his choice for Secretary of Defense, Retired Army General Lloyd Austin, amid concern by some in Congress that the Pentagon should be targeted. by a civilian rather than a career officer.
Austin, who would become the country’s first black defense secretary, has earned a reputation as an extremely secretive man who avoided the spotlight during a distinguished four-decade career in uniform, including a stint as head of the Army Central Command. , which oversees US troops throughout the Middle East.
But his nomination could lead to a complicated confirmation process after at least two Democratic senators voiced opposition to waiving a law that requires senior military officials to have been out of the military for at least seven years before leading. the Pentagon. Austin, 67, retired in 2016.
Biden, a Democrat, urged the US Senate to renounce the law and confirm Austin “quickly” in an essay published Tuesday by The Atlantic magazine.
The former vice president praised Austin’s work under pressure, noted the historic nature of his appointment, and said Austin shared with him a commitment to use force only as a last resort.
“The fact is that Austin’s many strengths and his deep knowledge of the Department of Defense and our government uniquely correspond to the challenges and crises we face,” Biden wrote. “He is the person we need right now.”
LEE: Biden elects the first black chief of the Pentagon
President Donald Trump’s first secretary of defense, retired Navy Gen. Jim Mattis, also requested a waiver.
Biden will take office on January 20 and is likely to spend much of his first few months focused on the coronavirus pandemic and the struggling economy.
On Tuesday, when he introduced members of his public health team, Biden promised to distribute 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days and to make reopening schools a “national priority.” He again implored Americans to wear masks to slow the spread of the virus.
Biden’s candidate for secretary of health and human services, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, will help oversee the government’s response to the pandemic, which has killed more than 283,000 people in the United States.
Biden also plans to nominate Marcia Fudge, a black congresswoman from Ohio, as his secretary for housing and urban development, and Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor, as secretary of agriculture, according to news reports. Vilsack held the same role during the Obama administration.
Trump still refuses to admit the November 3 election, claiming without evidence that the results were “rigged” by widespread fraud. On Tuesday, the state of Texas filed a petition with the United States Supreme Court challenging the outcome in four other states, a lawsuit that legal experts said had little chance of success.
