{"id":47094,"date":"2020-12-08T21:52:34","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T21:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/12\/08\/biden-heres-why-i-chose-lloyd-austin-for-defense-secretary\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:47:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:47:20","slug":"biden-heres-why-i-chose-lloyd-austin-for-defense-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2020\/12\/08\/biden-heres-why-i-chose-lloyd-austin-for-defense-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden: Here\u2019s why I chose Lloyd Austin for defense secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/11\/07\/biden-elected-president-but-trump-disputes-results\/\" target=_blank>President-elect Joe Biden<\/a> said he chose retired <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/08\/bidens-defense-secretary-pick-raises-concerns-over-recent-military-service\/\" target=_blank>Gen. Lloyd Austin III<\/a> as his nominee for defense secretary because of his experience and integrity, calling the retired soldier \u201cthe definition of a patriot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[Austin] and I share a commitment to empowering our diplomats and development experts to lead our foreign policy, using force only as our last resort,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2020\/12\/secretary-defense\/617330\/\" target=_blank>Biden wrote in an essay for The Atlantic Tuesday<\/a> explaining his decision. \u201cThe threats we face today are not the same as those we faced 10 or even five years ago. We must prepare to meet the challenges of the future, not keep fighting the wars of the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe must build a foreign policy that leads with diplomacy and revitalizes our alliances, putting American leadership back at the table and rallying the world to meet global threats to our security \u2014 from pandemics to climate change, from nuclear proliferation to the refugee crisis.\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\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/08\/bidens-defense-secretary-pick-raises-concerns-over-recent-military-service\/\" 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\u2019s defense secretary pick raises concerns over recent military service<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin III will need a waiver from Congress to serve in the Pentagon&#039;s highest civilian post.<\/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\">Austin, 67, is poised to become the first African-American defense secretary in U.S. history, if the Senate confirms him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He was a surprise choice given the strong backing in many Democratic circles behind former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy. But Biden wrote in his piece that his past relationship with Austin \u2014 especially their work together ending U.S. presence in Iraq while Biden was vice president \u2014 gave him confidence in Austin\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe played a crucial role in bringing 150,000 American troops home from the theater of war,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/ideas\/archive\/2020\/12\/secretary-defense\/617330\/\" target=_blank>Biden wrote<\/a>. \u201cPulling that off took more than just the skill and strategy of a seasoned soldier. It required Austin to practice diplomacy, building relationships with our Iraqi counterparts and with our partners in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHe served as a statesman, representing our country with honor and dignity and always, above all, looking out for his people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Austin was only the sixth African-American four-star general in Army history, and Biden praised his \u201cdistinguished and trailblazing career\u201d as a factor in his nomination.<\/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\/08\/report-biden-picks-lloyd-austin-retired-army-general-as-defense-secretary\/\" 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_hearing.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 picks Lloyd Austin, retired Army general, to lead Pentagon<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Austin would require a wavier from Congress to serve.<\/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\">And Biden said Austin will need that experience to handle a variety of key national security missions, including distribution of a coronavirus vaccine to facing a variety of overseas military threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe fact is, Austin\u2019s many strengths and his intimate knowledge of the Department of Defense and our government are uniquely matched to the challenges and crises we face,\u201d Biden wrote. \u201cHe is the person we need in this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Biden is expected to hold a press conference with Austin on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The president-elect says Austin has the experience and character needed to lead the Pentagon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":102199,"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":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,11,36,19,30,48,131],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3424],"class_list":["post-47094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-newsletters","category-pentagon","category-smr","category-the-americas","category-transition"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"G5FPKAC4ZNGANHVWDXO7EL5VMY","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/12\/08\/biden-heres-why-i-chose-lloyd-austin-for-defense-secretary\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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