Senate Confirms Lloyd Austin As Sec. Of Defense By 93-2 Vote

General Lloyd Austin has been confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense in a 93-2 vote in the Senate.

• The only dissenters were Republicans Mike Lee of Utah and Josh Hawley of Missouri.
• In 2020, some on the left had raised concerns about Austin's nomination, uneasy about a former military man taking over a civilian role. Indeed, the Senate had to provide Austin a waiver for a rule requiring military personnel to have been retired for at least 7 years before taking over the DoD.
• However, Austin's expertise, his position as the first black Sec. of Defense, and his commitment to rely heavily on civilian officials at the DoD made his confirmation an uncontentious one in the end.