The US Congress confirmed by a large majority, Friday, January 22, the appointment of ex-General Lloyd Austin as Minister of Defense. Mr Austin, 67, becomes the first African-American to lead the Pentagon and is the second member of Joe Biden’s government whose appointment has received the green light from elected officials, after Director of Intelligence Avril Haines.
“It is an honor and a privilege to become the 28e Minister of Defense of our country, and I am particularly proud to be the first African-American to hold this position, immediately tweeted the new minister. Now to work. “
It’s an honor and a privilege to serve as our country’s 28th Secretary of Defense, and I’m especially proud to be t… https://t.co/Lay2dl8dL2
The appointment of the former Army General, who notably fought in Iraq and Afghanistan before becoming the first colored man to lead the United States Army Central Command (Centcom), was approved in Senate by 93 votes to 2.
The day before, the two chambers of Congress had granted a dispensation to the general retired since 2016, under a regulation stipulating that a former soldier must be retired for more than seven years to become minister of defense. Since the adoption in 1947 of this rule intended to ensure close civilian control over the military, only two exemptions have been approved: the first in 1950 for George Marshall, who had just implemented his eponymous plan to rebuild Europe. , and the second for Jim Mattis in 2016.
“I will do everything to rid our ranks of extremists”
Mr. Austin pledged to fight extremism in the US military, after military personnel in plain clothes participated in the assault on Capitol Hill led by supporters of Donald Trump. “I will do everything to rid our ranks of racists and extremists”, he assured Tuesday before the Committee of the Armed Services of the Senate, while twelve soldiers of the American National Guard had been removed from the security device of the inauguration ceremony of Joe Biden, after the search for possible links with extremist groups.
But he also pledged to make the Covid-19 epidemic his first priority. “She killed over 400,000 Americans. These are quite simply disproportionate losses ”, he ruled, believing that the Pentagon could do more to fight against the disease.
Mr. Austin told elected officials that he intended to reconsider the military withdrawals from Germany and Somalia wanted by Donald Trump, but he supported the withdrawal from Afghanistan. “I would like to see this conflict end with a negotiated agreement”, he said, deeming better to “Focus on counterterrorism operations in the future”.
Coming from the prestigious West Point military academy, General Austin had retrained in the defense industry, like many of his predecessors. He was notably on the board of directors of Raytheon Technologies, and he promised to withdraw from any decision implicating his former employer.
