United State president-elect Joe Biden picks retired General Lloyd Austin as his Defense Secretary becoming the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.
Gen Austin, who led US Central Command during the Obama administration, would need a congressional waiver as it is less than seven years since he retired.
Biden selected Austin over the longtime frontrunner for the position, Michele Flournoy, a former senior Pentagon official and Biden supporter who would have been the first woman to serve as defense secretary.
Joe Biden also had considered Jeh Johnson, a former Pentagon general counsel and former secretary of homeland security.
Austin’s candidacy has also been met with resistance from some national security experts, who expressed concern about the balance of civil-military power in the Pentagon under yet another retired general.
“From a civil-military relations perspective, this seems like a terrible idea,” tweeted Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown University professor and former Pentagon official who wrote an op-ed in The New York Times calling for a woman to be chosen as Defense secretary.
“Lots of damage during the Trump era. Especially after Mattis, Kelly, McMaster, Flynn…. putting a recently retired 4 star, no matter how wonderful, into the top civilian DoD position sends the worst possible message.”
However, the Biden team saw Austin as the safe choice, said one former defense official close to the transition, adding that the retired general is believed to be a good soldier who would carry out the president-elect’s agenda.
“There would be less tension” with Austin as defense secretary instead of Johnson or Flournoy, the person said. “Maybe less disagreement … the relationship would be smoother.”
During his decades of service, Austin earned a reputation for avoiding the limelight and rarely took part in public events such as press conferences or think tank discussions.
In addition to the other firsts, he was also the first Black vice chief of staff of the Army, the service’s second-ranking officer.
In 2013, President Barack Obama named him to run Central Command, responsible for all U.S. military operations in the Middle East, where he oversaw operations against the Islamic State when it took over large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Biden’s reported decision comes two weeks after he announced other senior members of his national security team.
Joe Biden and Gen Austin have so far made no public comments on the issue.
By Christabel Airo
