MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Biden expected to announce first Afro-American General as Secretary of Defense

Austin, who retired in 2016, will need a waiver from Congress since it has been less than the required seven years since he served

President-elect Joe Biden has chosen retired General Lloyd Austin, who oversaw U.S. forces in the Middle East under President Barack Obama, to be his defense secretary. Austin, who would be the first Black U.S. secretary of defense, 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. The news was first reported by Politico.

Austin, who retired in 2016, will need a waiver from Congress since it has been less than the required seven years since he served. He would be the second Pentagon chief in four years to need a waiver, after President Donald Trump picked James Mattis, a retired Marine general, to be his first defense secretary.

The nomination of Austin, who headed U.S. Central Command under Obama, could draw fire from some progressive groups given his role in retirement on the board of a number of companies, including weapons maker Raytheon Technologies Corp.

But Biden and Austin developed a working relationship during the Obama administration and the retired general has been advising the transition team on national security issues.

Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20, on Monday also announced key members of his health team to lead the administration’s response to the raging coronavirus pandemic.

Biden chose California Attorney General Xavier Becerra 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’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.

The choice also comes as Biden faces pressure to ensure diversity in his Cabinet appointments, including complaints from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about the number of Latinos and from civil rights groups about the lack of Black nominees.