Washington, Jan. 23, (dpa/GNA) – The US Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the US Defense Department by a wide margin on Friday.
Senators voted 93-2 to confirm Lloyd Austin, the former commander of the US Central Command and a retired four-star general, as secretary of defense. He will be the first black person to lead the Pentagon.
He was a top commander in Iraq and became the head of Central Command during the Obama administration.
Biden said that he was grateful for the Senate’s “bipartisanship and swift confirmation” of Austin.
“His confirmation is historic,” Biden wrote in a tweet, adding that there’s no question that Austin is the right person to lead the department.
Biden worked closely with Austin on a range of issues in the Middle East, including the drawdown of US troops in Iraq and the war against the Islamic State terrorist militia.
Austin later had his first official phone call on the job. In the call with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the pair discussed Washington’s “steadfast commitment” to the transatlantic alliance, Austin wrote on Twitter.
“I look forward to working closely with him to strengthen the bond between Europe and North America through NATO,” Stoltenberg tweeted.
Former US President Donald Trump had regularly criticized NATO and even threatened to withdraw from it and cast doubt on whether the US would provide assistance to allies.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki also applauded Austin’s confirmation, noting that he has been “breaking barriers all of his life.”
Psaki also stressed that the country is facing “unprecedented challenges and threats to our national security,” and “urgently needs a secretary of homeland security in place.”
Austin is the second Biden nominee to be confirmed, following Avril Haines, his pick for director of national intelligence.
Biden’s choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee voted 26-0 to approve the nomination of Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary.
The move paved the way for her Senate confirmation, which would make her the first woman to lead the Treasury Department.
Yellen is a much-respected and experienced economist, having previously headed the central bank and the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
In recent months, she has advocated for using fiscal stimulus to combat the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
During a press conference on Friday, Biden said that it looks like the Treasury secretary and Secretary of State “are in place,” suggesting that he has reason to believe both will be confirmed imminently.
Antony Blinken is Biden’s choice to run the State Department.
GNA