{"id":51461,"date":"2021-01-29T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/29\/odd-couple-how-a-republican-senator-and-bidens-defense-secretary-became-friends-downrange\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:13:17","slug":"odd-couple-how-a-republican-senator-and-bidens-defense-secretary-became-friends-downrange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2021\/01\/29\/odd-couple-how-a-republican-senator-and-bidens-defense-secretary-became-friends-downrange\/","title":{"rendered":"Odd couple: How a Republican senator and Biden\u2019s defense secretary became friends downrange"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 Long before he was U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan<\/a>, he was Marine Reserve Maj. Dan Sullivan, tapped to write U.S. Central Command\u2019s strategy document and, by his telling, not getting much help from the subordinate commanders in the region. That is, until he went to Lloyd Austin<\/a>, then CENTCOM\u2019s two-star chief of staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe did a big video teleconference with all the subordinate commanders and said in very forceful language: This guy is doing it and you better help him,\u201d Sullivan, R-Alaska, told Defense News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast-forward fifteen years, and their roles were reversed, in a sense. Austin, a retired CENTCOM commander and President Joe Biden\u2019s pick for defense secretary, was receiving an introduction and endorsement speech from the guy he went to bat for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sullivan was now a senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee at Austin\u2019s confirmation hearing<\/a>. Endorsing a Democratic nominee after a heated election was noteworthy. Publicly lobbying his GOP colleagues to follow suit was even more unusual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a fractured 50-50 Senate, cross-party relationships like the one between Austin and Sullivan may make the difference for the Biden administration as it looks to work across the aisle, and for Republicans trying to assert their own priorities after losing control of the Senate and White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Sullivan, a dogged booster for his home state\u2019s defense interests, suggested Austin could be an ally for increasing the defense budget, he also has faith in the former Army four-star\u2019s military experience and character. He says he saw it up close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was one of hundreds, the low man on the totem pole,\u201d Sullivan said, describing his time as a staff officer for then-Gen. John Abizaid, who led CENTCOM, \u201cand when you see how people treat not just their superiors, but their subordinates down the chain of command, particularly at the Pentagon, it\u2019s very revealing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sullivan, 56, wasn\u2019t just a Reserve officer, but a former economic advisor in the Bush White House in his civilian life who later served as Alaska\u2019s attorney general and natural resources commissioner. And Austin, 67, wasn\u2019t just any general but a Silver Star recipient for his role leading the 3rd Infantry Division\u2019s invasion of Iraq who went on to command the XVIII Airborne Corps, supervise the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq and serve as Army vice chief of staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austin\u2019s confirmation as defense secretary \u2014 by a 93-2 vote last week \u2014 was more contentious<\/a> than that final tally suggested. He had to combat lawmaker concerns<\/a> that having another retired general as defense secretary so soon would erode civilian control of the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Sullivan took an opposite tack, defending Mattis\u2019s tenure and saying he favored Austin because of his 40-year military career, not in spite of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t have Gen. Austin on the national security team and the broader Biden Cabinet, there is literally no one \u2015 with the exception of [transportation secretary designee] Pete Buttigieg \u2015 who has spent one day in uniform,\u201d Sullivan told Defense News. \u201cAnd that is not healthy either, not wise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t