Joe Biden has officially named Lloyd Austin as his pick for defense secretary in his incoming cabinet. If confirmed, Austin would be the first Black leader of the Pentagon.
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US President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday announced his pick for the role of defense secretary will be the 67-year-old retired General Lloyd Austin.
"Throughout his lifetime of dedicated service — and in the many hours we've spent together in the White House Situation Room and with our troops overseas — General Austin has demonstrated exemplary leadership, character, and command," Biden said in a statement.
Austin's successful nomination would make him the first Black leader of the Pentagon and would be in line with Biden's promise of a diverse cabinet.
The career military officer will likely face opposition in Congress as many believe there should be a clear line between civilian and military leadership in the Pentagon.
Biden defended his nomination in a tweet, saying that he trusted the retired general and knows "how he reacts under pressure."
Nomination faces hurdles in Congress
Austin won out against former favorite Michele Flournoy, who many had expected to become the first woman to serve as US defense secretary.
While it is normal for defense secretaries to have served in the military, only two others have been career officers, including James Mattis who served under outgoing President Donald Trump.
In order for the nomination to be successful, Austin would require a waiver from Congress due to law aimed at preserving the civilian nature of the position.
Former members of the military are required to have been out of service for seven years before assuming the role of defense secretary, but Austin retired in 2016.
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A proven track record
The retired general spent 41 years serving in the military and led US and coalition troops in Iraq during former President Barack Obama's first term — when Joe Biden was vice president.
In 2012 he became the first-ever Black vice chief of staff of the US Army, the second-highest position. He then took command of the US Central Command and was in charge of the US's role in pushing Islamic State militants out of Syria and Iraq.
He was also involved in the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003 serving as assistant commander of the 3rd Infantry Division. He subsequently oversaw the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, a decision which he disagreed with.
Who are Joe Biden's presidential Cabinet picks?
President-elect Joe Biden has begun announcing Cabinet positions as he prepares to take over the White House. Most picks thus far served under President Barack Obama. The US Senate must confirm most of these nominees.
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Antony Blinken, Secretary of State
Blinken is a longtime confidant of President-elect Joe Biden. He's served under two Democratic presidents as well as a key aide on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also served as a deputy national security adviser and deputy secretary of state in the second Obama administration, when Biden was vice president.
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General Lloyd Austin, Defense Secretary
Austin was a controversial pick — his long career as a military officer requires a Congressional waiver before he can be confirmed. Austin held a series of prominent roles in the US Army and worked with Obama during the US withdrawal from Iraq. If successful, he would be the first Black Pentagon chief.
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Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary
Biden's nominee for the top position — the first woman ever if confirmed — goes some way towards fulfilling his promise to select a diverse cabinet. Yellen served on the policymaking committee of the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis and advised Bill Clinton. She would be taking the reigns during one of the worst economic crises in US history.
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Ron Klain, Chief of Staff
A veteran of Washington DC, Klain was an early pick for Biden. As White House chief of staff, he will work closely with the president, setting his agenda and coordinating the levers of power. Klain worked with Biden before when he was vice president as well as serving directly under former President Barack Obama as the Ebola Czar.
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Xavier Becerra, Health Secretary
The California Attorney General was picked to head up the health department under Biden's incoming cabinet during a global health crisis that has hit the US particularly hard. Becerra also helped in passing the Affordable Care Act when he sat in Congress. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first Latino appointed to the role.
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John Kerry, climate change envoy
The former secretary of state will become Biden's special presidential envoy for climate. Kerry served as a senator from Massachusetts from 1983 to 2013 before taking the top foreign policy role in the second Obama administration. Kerry signed the Paris Climate Agreement for the United States in 2015 — Donald Trump pulled the US out of the accord two years later.
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Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN
Thomas-Greenfield served in high-level State Department positions under Obama from 2013 to 2017. She led US policy in sub-Saharan African during the Ebola outbreak. Biden plans to restore the UN ambassador role to a White House Cabinet position.
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Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security
The Cuban-American headed Citizenship and Immigration Services under Obama. He led the implementation of the DACA program that allowed so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the US illegally as children, to stay in the country. If confirmed, he would become the first immigrant and Hispanic to head the Department of Homeland Security.
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Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser
Sullivan served as Biden's national security adviser from 2013 to 2014 while he was vice president. He also served as Hillary Clinton's deputy when she was Secretary of State. He later served as her chief foreign policy adviser during her unsuccessful presidential bid in 2016.
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Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence
Haines was the first woman to serve as deputy director of the CIA, a role she held from 2013 to 2015. She succeeded Antony Blinken as deputy national security adviser when he moved over to the state department in 2015. If confirmed, she would be the first woman to head the US intelligence community.
Biden has promised to make his presidential cabinet diverse and reflect the US population. But he faces the hurdle of getting his chosen candidates approved by the Senate, currently controlled by the Republican party.
He has already chosen women for the roles of US ambassador to the UN — Linda Thomas-Greenfield — and head of the CIA — Avril Haines — as well as picking former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen for the position of treasury secretary.
The latter would be the first-ever female head of the Treasury Department in the history of the US.
