Biden faces pressure over secretary of defence pick
WASHINGTON: President-elect Joe Biden is facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalises his choice for secretary of defence.
Black leaders have encouraged the incoming president to select an African American to diversify what has so far been a largely white prospective cabinet, while others are pushing him to appoint a woman to lead the Department of Defence for the first time.
At the same time, a growing collection of progressive groups is opposing the leading female contender, Michèle Flournoy, citing concerns about her record and private-sector associations.
A coalition of at least seven progressive groups warned Biden to avoid Flournoy in an open leter to Biden obtained on Wednesday by The Associated Press that referenced her record of “ill-advised policy decisions” — particularly in relation to Yemen and Afghanistan — and an “opaque history of private-sector activity.”
“Flournoy’s consistent support for military interventions has contributed to devastating crises around the world,” said Jehan Hakim, chairperson of the Yemeni Alliance Commitee, which helped organise the leter.
Other contenders are emerging, including retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin and Jeh Johnson, who served as the Pentagon’s top lawyer and then as head of the Department of Homeland Security during President Barack Obama’s second term. Both Austin and Johnson are Black.
The competing pressures are intensifying less than a month into Biden’s urgent push to build an administration while trying to preserve the broad coalition that fueled his victory over President Donald Trump last month.
And facing massive governing challenges once he takes office on Jan. 20, Biden can perhaps least afford to lose the backing of the Democratic Party’s fiery progressive base. Nearly 100 House Democrats belong to the Progressive Caucus, which may wield significant influence over Biden’s policy agenda as Democrats cling to their narrowest House majority in a century.