US Senate Confirms Lloyd Austin As First Black Chief Of Pentagon

By
KOKO
-
US Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III sits at the witness table during a Senate Armed Services Committee on Military Nominations hearing for his pending reappointment to be general and commander of United States Forces-Iraq in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 24, 2010. AFP PHOTO/ROD LAMKEY JR (Photo credit should read ROD LAMKEY JR/AFP via Getty Images)
The United States Senate has confirmed US general Lloyd Austin as the first Black chief of the pentagon. The final vote was 93 to 2, with only two Senate Republicans – Mike Lee of Utah and Josh Hawley of Missouri – opposing Austin’s nomination.
US Army Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III sits at the witness table during a Senate Armed Services Committee on Military Nominations hearing for his pending reappointment to be general and commander of United States Forces-Iraq in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 24, 2010. AFP PHOTO/ROD LAMKEY JR (Photo credit should read ROD LAMKEY JR/AFP via Getty Images)

Austin took to his Twitter page to announce his new position and said it was a great honor, the privilege to be the first black man to take on such huge responsibility. He mentioned that despite being the first he hopes not to be the last.
Read also: Joe Biden Removes Winston Churchill Bust From Oval Office On First Day As US President


Lloyd Austin will oversee the 1.3 million active-duty men and women who make up the nation’s military. The retired four-star general received overwhelming support from both Biden’s Democrats and opposition Republicans, even though his confirmation was complicated by his status as a recently retired general and required a waiver of a legal prohibition on a military officer serving as secretary of defense within seven years of retirement.

Photo Credit: Getty

Leave a Reply