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The new United States government
Biden bows to mini-rebellion and becomes African-American Secretary of Defense
Joe Biden reacts to criticism of his personnel policy and appoints a Latino as health minister and an African American as head of the Pentagon. Both are just second options. Who are Xavier Becerra, the future United States health officer, and Lloyd Austin, the newly appointed Secretary of Defense?
Side by side as early as 2009: then-Vice President and future President Joe Biden (r) and the next US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.
They were not the first choice. And they owe their future position primarily to a mini-rebellion by Latinos and African Americans, which was directed against the personnel policy of future President Joe Biden. But both Xavier Becerra, Biden’s cabinet-appointed U.S. health minister, and future Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin will overlook the circumstances of his appointment, because during their respective long careers the two men have grown accustomed to the fact. that, ultimately, results count.
Becerra, 62, has served as California Attorney General since 2017, making her the governor’s chief legal advisor and attorney general for the most populous state in the United States. The Democrat, the son of parents with Mexican roots, made a name for himself primarily as an antagonist of President Donald Trump’s administration.
The new Secretary of Health of the United States. Xavier Becerra speaks at a press conference in spring 2019 (file image).
Becerra fought tenaciously against advances in the White House’s immigration and environmental policy and blocked them with civil lawsuits. (By our own count, the number of these lawsuits surpassed 100 in September 2020.) The Attorney General, the official title of the Minister of Justice, campaigned for the expansion of the health system.
This course was approved by California voters. In 2018, Becerra received nearly 64 percent of the vote while seeking a full term. (For comparison: her predecessor Kamala Harris, vice president-designate on Biden’s side, was elected with just over 57 percent of the vote in 2014.)
Becerra, the creator and thought leader
Before becoming Attorney General, Becerra had been politicized for two years in California’s local parliament and for 24 years in the Washington House of Representatives. In the capital, the left-wing Democrat made a name for himself as an advocate for the American working class, a medium he is familiar with thanks to the biography of his father, who earned his living in agriculture and construction.
Becerra was considered a creator and thought leader, and his fellow advisers nicknamed him “Harvard” despite the fact that he had graduated from Stanford University in California (also elitist). During the presidency of Barack Obama, the father of three was considered the White House’s link with the Latino community. Art Torres, who landed Becerra his first job in California’s political establishment in 1986, recently described him in an interview with the New York Times as the “Joe Biden of Latinos”: Similar to the future president, Becerra comes from a humble background and has made my way to the top thanks to hard work.
Accepted among fellow servants, unknown to the public
The career of Secretary of Defense Designated Lloyd Austin also brings back memories of the dishwasher myth. The 67-year-old military professional was born in Mobile, Alabama, and raised in Thomasville, Georgia, at a time when dark-skinned Americans were still considered second-class people in the South.
Looyd Austin was the top general in the US military in Iraq. (File image)
When Austin retired in 2016, after 41 years of service in the military, he was the only African-American four-star general. Austin, who was responsible for US military operations in the Middle East from 2013 until his retirement as Commander of Central Command, will be named the first dark-skinned Pentagon chief.
Even if the second option is not a solution to shame
This choice is a surprise. Michèle Flournoy was long the favorite for this prestigious position, also because she had already worked in the Department of Defense during the Obama presidency. But after influential African Americans raised concerns about these staff, Biden turned away, also because he didn’t want to offend his friend Jim Clyburn, an influential congressman from South Carolina.
Austin is by no means an embarrassing solution. Thanks to his long service, which also took him to Germany, he is very familiar with the military apparatus. Enjoy the respect of your fellow servants. Yet he is unknown to the general public, in part because late in his career, when he held prestigious positions under President Obama, he avoided contact with the capital’s media.
In September 2015, the West Point graduate came under fire during an appearance before the Senate Military Committee when he offered an update on the fight against rebel IS terrorists. At the time, Austin was internally accused of underestimating, at least in early 2014, the destabilizing potential of the terrorist group.
The designated Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, was a professional soldier. Here he can be seen chatting with Jordanian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Mashal Mohammad Al Zaben during a deployment to Saudi Arabia in 2014. (File image)
Austin requires a free pass
The biggest hurdle for Austin might be the fact that he only hung up his uniform four years ago. US law provides for a seven-year hiatus before a career officer can assume the post of Secretary of Defense; This is to ensure that civilian control over the uniformed forces is not undermined.
Congress can override this provision, and the Senate and House of Representatives last issued the waiver to Defense Secretary-designate Jim Mattis in 2017. 17 members of the Democratic parliamentary group in the Senate voted against this free pass. And Jack Reed, the Democratic leader on the military committee, said he was in no way ready to pass another waiver in the foreseeable future.
