Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the vote to grant General Lloyd Austin a congressional waiver to serve as President-elect Biden’s secretary of defense:

            “General Lloyd Austin would be a strong and capable leader of the Department of Defense and I would support a waiver to the National Security Act of 1947 to allow him to serve as the next secretary of defense.

            “General Austin is highly qualified to lead our nation’s military. During a career spanning four decades, he oversaw U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, served as a vice chief of staff of the Army where he worked to increase diversity in the highest ranks of our military and commanded U.S. Central Command in its fight against ISIS and other regional threats.

            “General Austin retired from the Army nearly five years ago, and I am confident that he will uphold the foundational principle of civilian control of the military while at the same time leveraging the vast experience he gained during his remarkable career as an Army officer.”

            “After four years of tumultuous leadership under the Trump administration our troops deserve a steady hand to lead them in the defense of our nation. And our allies need a secretary of defense who speaks reliably on behalf of the president. For those reasons, I intend to vote in favor of granting Lloyd Austin a waiver to serve as the next secretary of defense.”