Biden’s historic pick puts some Democrats in a bind
Retired Gen. Austin would need waiver to lead Pentagon
WILMINGTON, Del. — President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday introduced his choice for secretary of defense, calling retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin the right man for a potentially volatile moment in global security while hailing the prospect of the first African American to lead the Pentagon.
But the nomination is putting some congressional Democrats in a political bind. In the past, they’ve opposed naming recently retired military officers to a post typically occupied by civilians, yet they don’t want to defy their party’s incoming president nor be seen as blocking history.
“He is the right person for this job at the right moment,” Biden said at a Delaware event with Austin, adding, “He’s loved by themenandwomenofthearmed forces, feared by our adversaries, known and respected by our allies.”
The choice has won applause and provoked consternation on Capitol Hill.
Three years ago, Congress waived a law prohibiting the appointment as defense secretary of military officers whohavebeen retired fewer than seven years. That allowed confirmation of President Donald Trump’s choice for the post, retired U.S. Marine Gen. Jim Mattis.
That came, however, over the objections of some Democrats, who may now have to reverse themselves to back Austin, who served 41 years in the Army and retired in 2016. Biden said his pick understands the need to keep a clear distance between military and civilian rule, but he added, “Just as they did for Jim Mattis, I am asking Congress to grant a waiver.”
“There’s a good reason for this law that I fully understand and respect,” said the president-elect, whosesonBeau, the former Delawareattorney general whodiedof brain cancer in 2015, served as an attorney on Austin’s military staff in Iraq. “I would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment doesn’t call for it.”
Austin said he comes to “this new role as a civilian leader, with military experience to be sure, but also with a deep appreciation and reverence for the prevailing wisdom of civilian control of our military.”
“I recognize that being a member of the president’s Cabinet requires a different perspective and unique responsibility from a career in uniform,” Austin said. “And I intend to keep this at the forefront of my mind.”
Austin’s nomination as the first Black leader of the Pentagon could have even more resonance at a time of extraordinary racial tension in the country.
Before announcing that he’d settled on Austin, Biden was facing pressure from activists over a lack of diversity in some of the key posts of the Cabinet he was building.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has followed Biden’s lead, announcing her support and calling Austin “particularly well-positioned to lead during this precarious moment.”
The Senate could prove more precarious, though. Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York struck a cautious tone Wednesday when asked about a wavier for Austin, saying, “I’m gonna have to study that.”
Illinois Sen Dick Durbin opposed the waiver for Mattis but now says of Biden’s nominee, “I wasso impressed with his performance that I would consider a waiver for Austin, once I get to know him.”
Some Democrats who agreed to the 2017 waiver saw Mattis as tempering Trump’s impulsive nature and offsetting his lack of national security experience. Now the Mattis period at the Pentagon is viewed by some as an argument against waiving the rule again.
Mattis’ critics say he surrounded himself with military officers at the expense of a broader civilian perspective. He resigned in December 2018 in protest of Trump’s policies.
Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said despite the historic racial angle of Austin’s nomination, he would not vote for a waiver because it “would contravene the basic principle that there should be civilian control over a nonpolitical military.”
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, was noncommittal, saying in a statement he’d “closely evaluate the implications for waiving the National Security Act requirement twice in just four years.” Hawaii Democratic
Sen. Brian Schatz, went further Tuesday, saying, “This is becoming a trend, and I don’t like it. It is difficult to imagine voting for a Mattis.”
With the Senate almost evenly divided politically — with the
outcome of two Georgia special elections pending next month — Biden can lose only a limited number of Democrats, which is unusual for an incoming president from the same party.
That means he’ll need some
Republican support to get Austin confirmed, though, that will be forthcoming in some quarters. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said, “I always support waivers.”