The Senate voted 93-2 on Friday to confirm Lloyd Austin as the next Secretary of Defense under President Joe Biden on Friday, making him the first Black man to lead the department, CQ reports.
The confirmation vote came soon after the House passed a waiver for the retired general which states that a seven-year “cooling off period” for retired military officials to take the post.
“At last week’s hearing on civilian control of the military, valid concerns were raised. But at his nomination hearing, Austin pledged to repair civilian military relations. These were critical comments from Austin, whom I support,” said Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Austin was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and the first to oversee an entire theater of operations (U.S. Forces in Iraq). Austin ran U.S. Central Command before retiring in 2016.
“The way I see it, my job as Secretary of Defense is to make you more effective at doing yours,” wrote Austin in a DoD statement on Friday. “That means ensuring you have the tools, technology, weapons, and training to deter and defeat our enemies. It means establishing sound policy and strategy and assigning you clear missions.”
Photo by DoD/Lisa Ferdinando
