{"id":37982,"date":"2021-01-12T18:45:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T18:45:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/12\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:02:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:02:35","slug":"all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/01\/12\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\/","title":{"rendered":"All eyes on Reed as Austin waiver splits Democrats"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2020\/10\/29\/sen-jack-reed-is-thought-of-as-a-quiet-professional-if-democrats-win-the-senate-hell-be-front-and-center\/\" target=_blank>U.S. Sen. Jack Reed<\/a> has yet to take over as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, but he\u2019s already facing division within the panel and his party over the issue of President-elect Joe Biden\u2019s pick to lead the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Four years ago, Reed, D-R.I., reluctantly supported President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s selection of a recently retired general for defense secretary, Jim Mattis, despite expressing fears it would erode civilian control of the military. He vowed not to support another one in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But now, Reed is in a political bind after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/smr\/transition\/2020\/12\/07\/report-biden-picks-lloyd-austin-retired-army-general-as-defense-secretary\/\" target=_blank>Biden chose retired Gen. Lloyd Austin <\/a>to be his defense secretary. To serve, Congress must grant Austin the same exception to a seven-year cooling-off period between uniformed service and the defense secretary job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If confirmed, the former Army four-star and head of U.S. Central Command would be the first African American to serve in the role. Austin\u2019s supporters, including former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and former Secretary of State Colin Powell, have argued that Austin\u2019s unique background more than justifies the waiver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Several Democrats on the committee have said they won\u2019t support the waiver, despite Austin\u2019s qualifications, out of principle: Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Tammy Duckworth, Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/12\/12\/race-matters-austin-advocates-tout-his-historic-candidacy-in-the-face-of-other-concerns\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2494253.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">\u2018Race matters\u2019: Austin advocates tout his historic candidacy in the face of other concerns<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Advocates of Lloyd Austin for defense secretary are asking lawmakers to think hard about another topic: the general\u2019s race.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reed, as the senior voice on military issues in the Senate, may not have the political luxury to take the same stance against an incoming president from his own party. He is a pivotal figure in the waiver and nomination, and how he handles this will set the tone for his relationship with Biden and Austin, whose eventual confirmation seems likely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tuesday, during a committee hearing on the issue of the waiver and the importance of civilian control of the military, Reed remained torn between his desire to support Austin and his worry of the precedent set by a second waiver in four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCivil military relations are never static and must constantly be tended to,\u201d Reed said. \u201cDuring the four years since the committee last considered such a waiver, the state of civil military relations has eroded significantly under President Trump and the Department of Defense is in many cases adrift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet Reed appeared to be trying for a path. He pointed to the ongoing global pandemic, a massive cyber attack on the United States, and last week\u2019s assault on the Capitol to argue the country needs a defense secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe events of the past several months have thrown into sharp relief how perilously close the nation has come to undermining the resiliency of our democratic institutions. While not broken, these institutions and principles have been repeatedly subject to extreme stress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis dire situation calls for stability and a duly confirmed secretary of defense, who has responded to Congress in the confirmation process, and will be responsive to Congress, as well as the president in the execution of his duties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/smr\/transition\/2020\/12\/30\/biden-selects-hicks-kahl-for-top-dod-roles\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/kathhicks_1.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Biden selects Hicks, Kahl for top Pentagon roles<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Kathleen Hicks would become the highest-ranking civilian to serve at the Defense Department.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reed asked the expert witnesses for recommendations to ensure Austin, if confirmed, can protect and promote civilian control of the military, and he suggested a way to assuage concerns about Austin would be to confirm other Pentagon nominees with robust civilian experience, \u201cas quickly as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reed also set a bar for Austin at his confirmation hearing and meetings with lawmakers: to demonstrate he has a \u201ccomplete commitment\u201d to the bureaucratic politics of his new role and to a reliance on outside experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin would have some political awareness as a combatant commander, but an Army general\u2019s \u201cdefault logic\u201d might not encompass the broader array of tools available to the government, Lindsay Cohn, associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College, told Reed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is something Mr. Austin will be aware of but not something he would have had to personally play in,\u201d said Cohn. \u201cWe saw with Mr. Mattis that was something he was very uncomfortable doing, and that is problematic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Senate votes on the Austin\u2019s waiver and his confirmation could differ from each other. While some Democratic lawmakers opposed to the waiver said they would consider Austin for confirmation, some Republicans have brushed off the waiver issue and said they see a lack of experience on China, which they see as the main threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Congress grants Mr. Austin a waiver, I\u2019ll consider his nomination independently on the merits, and regardless of who the next secretary of defense is,\u201d said Warren. \u201cIt\u2019s clear that a lot of work must be done to restore civilian voices to their proper balance in the decision-making process at the Defense Department.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/01\/07\/joe-biden-wont-have-his-defense-secretary-in-place-on-day-one\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lloydaustin_-biden.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Biden won\u2019t have his defense secretary in place on Day One<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">President-elect Joe Biden is pressuring on Congress to quickly confirm his nominees for national security roles, but it appears the congressional calendar won\u2019t permit his pick for defense secretary to be in place on Day One.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the waiver, Duckworth, D-Ill., said it would be unhealthy to have a defense secretary who is too close in thinking and personally with the top uniformed leaders. But she strongly hinted she would vote to confirm Austin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have no doubt that he\u2019ll bring his trademark dedication and steady leadership to the role of secretary of defense,\u201d said Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran. \u201cHowever, I stand firm in my conviction that the principle of civilian control control of the military is bigger than any one person, his personal experiences or resume.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin is scheduled to appear before the SASC on Jan. 19 for his formal confirmation hearing. He is expected to testify Jan. 21 at the House Armed Services Committee on the waiver issue \u2015 a step Mattis did not take, which is expected to head off concerns from many House Democrats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden is scheduled to be sworn in as president on Jan. 20. Campaign officials have pushed senators to move quickly on his nominees \u2014 particularly his picks for key national security spots \u2014 to ensure a smooth transition into the next administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Sen. Jack Reed hasn\u2019t taken over as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee yet, but he\u2019s already facing division within the panel and his party over the issue of President-elect Joe Biden\u2019s pick to lead the Pentagon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":77288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[8,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3446,3424],"class_list":["post-37982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WF4PT2F2QRBMVBMCT6BVGXTWMQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/congress\/2021\/01\/12\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>All eyes on Reed as Austin waiver splits Democrats - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"U.S. Sen. Jack Reed hasn\u2019t taken over as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee yet, but he\u2019s already facing division within the panel and his party over the issue of President-elect Joe Biden\u2019s pick to lead the Pentagon.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"All eyes on Reed as Austin waiver splits Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. Sen. Jack Reed hasn\u2019t taken over as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee yet, but he\u2019s already facing division within the panel and his party over the issue of President-elect Joe Biden\u2019s pick to lead the Pentagon.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2021\/01\/12\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-12T18:45:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T23:02:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joe Gould, Leo Shane III\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joe Gould, Leo Shane III\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"All eyes on Reed as Austin waiver splits Democrats\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-01-12T18:45:07+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:02:35+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 950,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-936608146.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Congress\",\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"All eyes on Reed as Austin waiver splits Democrats - Defense News\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/defensenews\\\/congress\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/12\\\/all-eyes-on-reed-as-austin-waiver-splits-democrats\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-936608146.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2021-01-12T18:45:07+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-07T23:02:35+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"U.S. Sen. 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