WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden’s choice of retired Gen. Lloyd Austin III as defense secretary — who will be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon if confirmed — faces hurdles in the Senate and, because of a unique circumstance, in the House.
Biden’s selection of Austin presents a dilemma for Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Army vet and a member of the Armed Services Committee. She was in the running for the Defense spot.
Austin, who retired in 2016, will need a waiver from Congress because the law calls for a defense secretary to be a civilian and, if former military, out of uniform for at least seven years.
There’s a loophole, however.
Congress could grant a waiver.
Usually a Cabinet pick only needs to be confirmed in the Senate. In Austin’s case, the House gets a say when it votes on a waiver.
Here’s why this presents a problem for Biden and puts Duckworth, who supports Austin, in a box.
Duckworth said Wednesday she will vote to confirm Austin but will not approve a waiver for him.
She will be on the hot seat if Biden — who considered her for his vice presidential pick — needs her vote for an Austin waiver.
In 2018, President Donald Trump won a waiver for his first defense secretary nominee, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, who was out of the service for less than four years.
Duckworth voted no on the Mattis waiver. So did Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
On Wednesday, Duckworth told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Austin is “an excellent officer, well tested, very capable of leading the Department of Defense. And I think he will be an excellent secretary of defense, but on principle, I cannot, I cannot vote for the waiver.”
Duckworth, who banked 23 years in the Army, said “The system is set up that there should be civilian control of the military.”
She added, “This principle is bigger than any single individual, and I’m going to stick by it.”
Durbin told reporters in the Capitol on Tuesday he is considering a waiver for Austin.
BACKGROUND
In 1947, Congress consolidated the different services and created what eventually became known as the Defense Department. James Forrestal became the first defense secretary on Sept. 17, 1947, and every person leading the Pentagon since has been a white man.
The original law stating a civilian has to be the defense secretary called for at least 10 years out of the service if the nominee was retired military. Congress shaved it to seven years in 2007.
Since 1947, there has been only two exceptions to the requirements: Mattis, and in 1950, according to the Congressional Research Service, Army Gen. George Marshall, tapped by President Harry Truman.
WHAT BIDEN SAID
Biden is promising diversity in his personnel picks. Of the 200 people to be Army 4-star generals, Austin is the sixth Black person to reach that rank.
Confronting the civilian control issue, Biden said, without mentioning Trump’s attempts to use the military for his personal political purposes, “The civilian military dynamic, that dynamic itself has been under great stress, the past four years.
“Now I know that secretary-designee Austin is going to work tirelessly to get it back on track.”
Biden added, “There’s no doubt in my mind, not any doubt whatsoever, whether this nominee will honor, respect, and, on a day-to-day basis, breathe life into the preeminent principle of civilian leadership over military matters in our nation.”
ILLINOIS DEMS WHO NIXED MATTIS WAIVERS WILL BE YES FOR AUSTIN
In 2018, the then-six Illinois GOP House members approved Mattis waivers. No Illinois House Democrat voted yes.
On Wednesday, several Illinois Democrats told the Chicago Sun-Times they will flip and vote yes for Austin waivers or are considering approval.
“As the first African-American to lead the Defense Dept., Gen. Austin would be a historic appointment and would be more reflective of the men and women who serve in uniform,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky said in an email. Spokespeople for Reps. Danny Davis and Robin Kelly said they will be yes votes.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, not sure yet, said in an email, “I still have concerns about appointing a recently retired general to a role intended for a civilian as part of our long tradition of civilian oversight of the military. A proper balance of civil-military relations at the Pentagon is essential, and I need to learn more about the Biden Administration’s plans for ensuring this balance before I can potentially support a waiver for General Austin.”
