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Senate Confirms Biden's Choice for Secretary of Defense

Jeff Seldin

   WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden got a needed boost early Friday,
   with lawmakers giving final approval to his secretary of defense, who
   becomes only the second Cabinet member to be confirmed the
   administration seeks to push back against key adversaries, including
   Russia.

   The Senate voted 93--2 to confirm retired General Lloyd Austin, making
   him the first African American to lead the Department of Defense.

   "It's an honor and a privilege to serve as our country's 28th Secretary
   of Defense, and I'm especially proud to be the first African American
   to hold the position. Let's get to work," tweeted Austin Friday.

     It's an honor and a privilege to serve as our country's 28th
     Secretary of Defense, and I'm especially proud to be the first
     African American to hold the position. Let's get to work.
     [1]pic.twitter.com/qPAzVRxz9L
     -- Lloyd Austin (@LloydAustin) [2]January 22, 2021

   The vote came less than 24 hours after both the Senate and the House
   approved a legally required waiver that would allow Austin, the former
   commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East and South Asia to take the
   civilian post, less than seven years after retiring from the military.

   During his confirmation hearing this past Tuesday, Austin said his
   first priority would be to boost the country's battle against the
   coronavirus pandemic, and U.S. defense officials said Friday he was set
   to get an update on those efforts following his swearing in.

   "The greatest challenge to our country right now ... is the pandemic,"
   he told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

   "It's killed over 400,000 of our American citizens. That's just an
   incredible, incredible loss of life," Austin said. "We have to do
   everything we can to break the cycle of transmission and begin to turn
   this thing around."

References

   1. https://t.co/qPAzVRxz9L
   2. https://twitter.com/LloydAustin/status/1352648985908019200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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