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On Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden has announced he intends to nominate retired Army General Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of Defense. He urged US Congress to approve a waiver allowing Austin to lead the Pentagon sooner than he is allowed under federal law. Point to be noted that Austin will be the first Black man to helm the Pentagon after confirmation the Senate. Biden announced his decision in an essay published on Tuesday by The Atlantic to tap Austin as Defense Secretary and called the retired Army general a true and tested soldier and leader. On Wednesday, he praised Austin in an event at Wilmington, Delaware. He said, “He has seen perform to the highest standards under intense pressure. There’s no question that he is the right person for this job at the right moment, leading the Department of Defense at this moment in our nation’s history”.

The President-elect added that he and Austin have traveled to some of the more interesting parts of the world together while Biden was vice president. He pointed out that the retired general has made history throughout his military career. Biden said, “He’s been breaking down barriers and blazing a trail forward in this nation for many years now, for more than 40 years, and he has a long way to go and he’s going to do it again. He is cool under fire and inspiring to those around him. That’s Lloyd Austin”. 67-years old Austin will be the 2^nd former uniformed military commander after the approval by the Senate, to lead the Pentagon in the last 4 years, following Trump’s first secretary of defense General Jim Mattis.

It is noteworthy that Federal law requires military officers to wait seven years after retiring from active-duty service before serving in top civilian defense roles, such as Pentagon chief. But, Congress can approve a waiver exempting Austin (retired in 2016) from the law, as it did for Mattis in 2017. However, it is still unclear whether Congress will grant such a waiver as several Republican and Democratic senators seemed hesitant to do so when pressed by reporters on Tuesday. Biden also said, “There is a good reason for the law, but he would not be asking for this exception if I did not believe this moment in our history didn’t call for it. Just as they did for Secretary Jim Mattis, I ask the Congress to grant a waiver for secretary-designee Austin”.