Lloyd Austin becomes first Black U.S. Defense Secretary

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Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general, has been confirmed by the Senate, making him the first Black defense secretary in U.S. history.

The Senate approved President Biden’s nomination for Pentagon chief in an almost unanimous 93-2 vote Friday.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to serve as our country’s 28th Secretary of Defense, and I’m especially proud to be the first African American to hold the position,” Austin tweeted Friday.

“Let’s get to work,” he added.

Austin’s nomination was approved despite concerns raised by both parties that he hadn’t been out of uniform for the legally mandated seven-year period.

The National Security Act of 1947 created the rule to ensure civilian control over the military is maintained, but it also permits a waiver if lawmakers in both the House and the Senate approve.

Amid concerns of the waiver, Austin promised to surround himself with “experienced, capable civilian leaders” and to hire a chief of staff who “will not be a military person.”

Lloyd Austin becomes just the third Pentagon chief to serve after receiving a waiver. George Marshall, a retired general of the Army nominated in 1950 by President Harry Truman, and retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, former President Donald Trump’s first defense secretary in 2017, also received the waiver.

Born in Mobile, Ala. but grew up in Thomasville, GA, Austin graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1975 with a commission in the Infantry, according to his biography from the American Academy of Diplomacy.

Austin served more than 40 years in the Army, and headed U.S. Central Command, the Pentagon’s key post leading military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. He served as commander of the theater from 2013 to 2016, making him the first Black general to hold that post.