[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 13 (Friday, January 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S97]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Finally, Mr. President, on one final matter regarding 
nominees, we are considering President Biden's nominees to key Cabinet 
posts.
  On Wednesday, Admiral Haines was confirmed as Director of National 
Intelligence on a big bipartisan vote, including my own. We hope to be 
able to consider Tony Blinken to be the Secretary of State early next 
week.
  Today, we are considering GEN Lloyd Austin, President Biden's nominee 
to serve as Secretary of Defense. I voted to approve the waiver that 
would allow him to serve in this post yesterday, notwithstanding the 7-
year cooling-off period after military service, and I will be voting in 
favor of his confirmation.
  I am voting yes because the nominee is clearly qualified and because 
Presidents should get real latitude to fill their teams with qualified 
and mainstream people of their choosing. At the same time, the Senate 
should pause and reflect on the fact that we will have begun two 
consecutive Presidential administrations by issuing a waiver to a four-
star general and former CENTCOM commander to lead the Pentagon.
  The Armed Services Committee held a hearing last week to examine the 
waiver and the current state of civil-military relations at the 
Pentagon. I expect the committee will continue to pay close attention 
to this important issue in the months ahead and will investigate steps 
that Congress can take to help restore balance over at the Pentagon.
  The law that we keep waiving actually exists for a good reason. 
Civilian control of the military is a fundamental principle of our 
Republic. We emphatically do not want high-ranking military service to 
become a tacit prerequisite for a civilian leadership post over at the 
Department of Defense.
  It is not just about a simplistic fear that the military will end up 
running itself. To the contrary, many experts worry that military 
leaders' appropriate fixation on being nonpolitical may not prepare 
them for the job, to forcefully fight for our armed services amid the 
political rough-and-tumble in the executive branch and here in 
Congress. To put it another way, they are taught from the beginning to 
stay out of politics entirely. But we do want a Secretary of Defense 
who is willing to engage in the issue-based discussions that we have 
related to the Department.
  Nevertheless, I will vote today to confirm a clear patriot with an 
impressive career, but I will cast that vote with the understanding 
that our new Secretary of Defense specifically commits to balancing 
civil-military relations, empowering civilian leaders at the Pentagon, 
and playing an active role in the inherently political budget process 
to get our forces what they need. Our intensifying competition with 
China, Russia, and all the other threats we face demand nothing less.

                          ____________________