Political Quotes

“Today, I rise in support of the requested waiver of the Secretary of Defense nominee, retired four-star General Lloyd S. Austin, III. President Biden recognizes the need to have the most qualified individuals in his Cabinet to right the ship from day one. The issues of instability of our Department of Defense, morale, and a desire to engage more vigorously with the world require that a nominee be one who has the type of career that General Austin does. General Austin's distinguished career and experience as a commander of the U.S. Central Command and Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army have prepared him to be ideal for the task at hand. We agree that the separation of Active Duty military and civilian is important. Moreover, I have full confidence, however, that the Secretary-designate shares these values, in that he came to the House, reaching out to this body in a way that shows reverence for the continued promotion and defense of civilian control of the military. Lastly, having an African-American Secretary of Defense is highly important at this time, as the military must address the growing evidence of sympathy towards dangerous conspiracies and White supremacist causes amongst servicemembers--evidence made exponentially troubling due to the fact that a large percentage of servicemembers are people of color. General Lloyd Austin is the right person for the job at the time at hand, and Congress must allow him to get through and get the job done. Mr.…”