Biden to nominate retired general at Pentagon, introduce health team to
battle COVID-19
Send a link to a friend
[December 08, 2020]
By Simon Lewis and Phil Stewart
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) -
President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired General Lloyd Austin to
be his defense secretary as soon as Tuesday, a person familiar with the
decision said, and will publicly introduce the health team that will
lead his administration's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Austin, 67, a former head of U.S. Central Command who oversaw forces in
the Middle East under President Barack Obama, will be the first Black
U.S. secretary of defense if the U.S. Senate confirms him.
He was a surprise pick over Michele Flournoy, a former top Defense
Department official who was considered the leading contender for the
job. Flournoy would have been the first woman defense secretary.
Austin, who retired in 2016, needs a waiver from Congress to take the
post, as he has been out of the military less than the required seven
years. President Donald Trump's first Pentagon chief, retired Marine
general James Mattis, also needed a waiver to serve.
Known as a shrewd strategist with deep knowledge of the armed forces, he
developed a working relationship with Biden during the Obama
administration and has been advising the transition team on national
security issues, the person familiar with the decision to name him said.
The nomination could draw fire from some progressive groups given
Austin's role in retirement on the board of a number of companies,
including weapons maker Raytheon Technologies Corp.
But it will help answer complaints from advocacy groups about the need
for more racial diversity in Biden's Cabinet appointments, including
complaints from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about the number of
Latinos and from civil rights groups about the lack of prominent Black
nominees.
After Biden introduces the leadership of his new health team on Tuesday
he will have a virtual meeting with civil rights leaders who have been
pressing him about the need for more Blacks in top administration posts.
Biden has promised the most diverse Cabinet in U.S. history, and he made
a point in his victory speech last month of telling Black voters that he
would remember them.
The choice of Austin also will resonate among proponents for greater
diversity in the leadership of the U.S. armed forces, which is regularly
criticized for failing to promote Black servicemembers and whose top
tier has been largely white.
Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, has been scrambling to put together
the nominees who will lead on his top priorities since he defeated Trump
in the Nov. 3 election.
[to top of second column]
|
President Barack Obama sits next to Commander of Central Command
Gen. Lloyd Austin III during in a briefing from top military leaders
while at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa,
Florida, September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing
Biden has already named many of his national security and economic
leaders, and his health team will guide the response to his first
big challenge - containing a resurgent COVID-19 virus that has
killed more than 283,000 Americans, and finding ways to jump-start
an economy reeling from pandemic-fueled job losses.
Biden will introduce California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a
Latino former congressman, for secretary of health and human
services and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, to run the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Anthony Fauci,
director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases, was named as Biden's chief medical adviser on the virus.
Biden picked Jeff Zients, an economic adviser known for his
managerial skills, as coronavirus "czar" to oversee a response that
will include an unprecedented operation to distribute hundreds of
millions of doses of a new vaccine, coordinating efforts across
multiple federal agencies.
Biden's choice of Becerra, 62, a Latino former congressman, adds a
politician to a health effort that otherwise largely relies on
government administrators and health experts.
But Becerra also has a long record of supporting the Affordable Care
Act, better known as Obamacare. He played a key role in passing the
landmark law during his time in Congress, and in his current
California role leads the coalition of 20 states defending the
program, including in a case before the Supreme Court last month.
A person familiar with Biden's choice of Austin for the Pentagon
said his experience with difficult logistical challenges such as
leading the transition of U.S. and Coalition forces out of Iraq
could help the Pentagon as it plays a huge role in the vaccine
rollout.
(Reporting Simon Lewis in Delaware and Phil Stewart in Washington.
Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Andrea Shalal and John
Whitesides; Editing by Kieran Murray and Gerry Doyle)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |