Politics live updates: Biden says Gen. Lloyd Austin is ‘right person’ to lead Pentagon
USA TODAY’s coverage of the 2020 election and President-elect Joe Biden’s transition continues this week as he rolls out more of his picks for top jobs in his administration. Meanwhile, the remaining final states certify their vote counts before the Electoral College ballots are officially cast Monday.
President Donald Trump has cleared the way for Biden’s team to use federal resources and get briefings during the transition, although Trump has yet to formally concede the race.
Be sure to refresh this page often to get the latest information on the election and the transition.
Biden introduces Austin as choice for civilian head of Pentagon despite military background
WILMINGTON, Del. – In officially introducing Lloyd Austin as his nominee to become secretary of the Defense Department, President-elect Joe Biden sought Wednesday to tamp down criticism of picking a retired, four-star Army general as the civilian leader of the armed forces.
“He is the right person for this job, at the right moment leading the Department of Defense at this moment in our nation’s history,” Biden said at The Queen theater. “Through sheer determination and and extraordinary skill, He’s been breaking down barriers and blazing a trail forward in this nation for more than 40 years.”
Biden said Austin led the reduction in troops from Iraq, which represented the biggest logistical challenge to the department in 60 years. One night while meeting at the ambassador’s house in Baghdad, Biden said insurgents launched a rocket attack.
“Of course, for Gen. Austin, it was just another day at the office,” Biden said. “He’s cool under fire, inspiring the same in all those around him.”
Biden also noted that, if confirmed, Austin would be the first African American to head the Pentagon. People of color represent about 30% of military personnel, which Biden said should be better reflected in leadership.
“It’s long past the time that the department’s leadership reflects that diversity,” Biden said.
Austin thanked Biden for the honor of building upon the history of African Americans in the military, from Buffalo soldiers to the Tuskegee Airmen to Colin Powell, a former general and secretary of State.
“Many people have paved the way for me,” said Austin, who did not mention that the military was segregated until after World War II.
President Donald Trump also chose a retired general as his first defense secretary: Jim Mattis.
But Democrats who are allies of Biden had urged him to avoid the example of Trump and Mattis, who parted acrimoniously.
“I think the preference would be for someone who is not recently retired,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Before Austin can be confirmed, Congress must grant him a waiver from a law that requires active-duty military personnel to wait at least seven years before they can become defense secretary. Austin retired more than four years ago.
Biden said he believes in the importance of civilian leadership over military matters, but that Austin’s experience justifies an exception. He praised Austin’s experience at logistics would help distribute coronavirus vaccine and in rebuilding international relations in Asia, Europe and elsewhere.
“I would not be asking for this exception if I didn’t believe this moment in history didn’t call for it. It does call for it,” Biden said. “He is the person we need at this moment.”
Some Democratic lawmakers say they will oppose a waiver for Austin, citing the issue of civilian control of the military.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who voted against the waiver for Mattis, said a waiver for Austin “would contravene the basic principle that there should be civilian control over a nonpolitical military.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has also said she would oppose a waiver, as she did for Mattis.
But the leaders of seven civil-rights groups, who met Tuesday with Biden to encourage diversity in his cabinet, warned against setting a higher bar for Austin to clear. The Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the National Action Network, said Austin’s nomination shouldn’t be blocked by the rejection of a waiver because two previous secretaries had been granted waivers: Mattis and George Marshall for former President Harry Truman.
“We should not have double standards,” Sharpton said. “We had two waivers in American history to make a Department of Defense secretary who had been in the military. We will not accept getting to the Black guy and all of a sudden we’re going to change what we’ve already done twice.”
In nominating Austin, Biden chose someone he worked closely as vice president during the Barack Obama administration. Biden lauded Austin’s experience, including his leadership in winding down combat operations in Iraq. Austin also ran the war against the Islamic State as head of the U.S. Central Command.
Biden nearly choked up when he noted that his late son, Beau, was proud to serve in Iraq for a year on Austin’s staff. Biden quoted the advice that Austin learned from his first platoon sergeant: “If you focus on your people, take care of them, get out in front and lead them, they’ll refuse to let you fail.”
Biden said Austin became the 200th general to earn a fourth star, and only the sixth African American.
– David Jackson and Bart Jansen
‘Schizophrenic’: McConnell slams Pelosi and Schumer for rejecting White House stimulus proposal
The stalemate in COVID-19 stimulus negotiations continued Wednesday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., attacked top Democrats’ rejection of the latest White House offer, while Democrats staked their hopes on a bipartisan group of nine senators negotiating a $908 billion proposal.
On Tuesday, McConnell had offered to drop one of Republicans’ largest priorities in negotiations – liability protections for businesses – if Democrats dropped one of their priorities – aid for state and local governments. Those sticking points could be resolved in another relief bill at the beginning of next year, he said. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., rejected McConnell’s approach, urging him to work with the bipartisan group instead and accusing him of “obstruction.”
Adding to the scramble to get a bill done before Congress leaves for Christmas, the White House and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin made their own $916 billion proposal Tuesday evening, an approach Democrats mostly rejected because of the small amount it provided for unemployment funds.
“In a bizarre and schizophrenic press release, the speaker and the leader said the administration was obstructing negotiations by negotiating. Two more brush offs in about two hours. More deflection, more delay, and more suffering for innocent Americans,” McConnell said.
“Cutting unemployment to the extent he has…it’s not going to get much support among any Democrats,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday, saying the bipartisan negotiations were the “way to go.”
But the provisions of the compromise bill have not been finalized yet. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, one of the senators working on the compromise proposal, told reporters on Capitol Hill the group was still “trying to finalize the language” on their proposal.
– Nicholas Wu
Biden, Harris to select Fudge for HUD, Vilsack for agriculture
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will choose Rep. Marcia Fudge as their nominee for secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Tom Vilsack is their pick for secretary of agriculture.
Fudge is an Ohio Democrat representing the Cleveland area. She would be the second Black woman to lead HUD, which focuses on federal policy surrounding housing.
refused Tuesday to stop Pennsylvania from finalizing President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state despite allegations from allies of President Donald Trump that the expansion of mail-in voting was illegal .
The action by the nation’s highest court, which includes three justices named by Trump, came as states across the country are locking in the results that will lead to next week’s Electoral College vote. It represented the latest in a string of stinging judicial opinions that have left the president defeated both politically and legally.
By their one-sentence denial, the justices left intact a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which said the challenge to a state law passed in 2019 came far too late. New Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett appeared to have participated in the case; no dissents or recusals were noted.
– Richard Wolf