Austin Would Be First Black SECDEF

President-elect Joe Biden will nominate retired Army Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III to be his Defense Secretary, the transition team announced Dec. 8. Austin, who left the military in 2016 as the head of U.S. Central Command, would be the first-ever Black man to hold the Pentagon’s top civilian job if confirmed by the Senate. Congress will need to grant a waiver to let him serve as Defense Secretary like it did for retired Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis in 2017. Read more ►