President Elect Joe Biden has picked retired General Lloyd Austin as his defence secretary, according to media reports in the US.
Gen Austin, aged 67, will become the first African-American to lead the Pentagon.
Biden reached out to Austin over the weekend to offer the job, according to the source, and he accepted. Austin emerged as the leading candidate last week, the source said. Politico was first to report on Biden’s selection of Austin.
The selection would make Austin one of the most prominent members of Biden’s Cabinet and incoming administration. The secretary of defense is in control of the nation’s largest government agency, commanding troops around the world and the complicated internal workings of the Pentagon that make it one of the world’s most formidable bureaucracies.
It also means Austin’s political chops would be put to the test, juggling calls to cut defense spending, as some in Congress want, while still funding innovative future technology and prioritizing the challenges posed by Russia and China — all while maintaining military deterrence against Iran, North Korea, and ISIS.
Austin has a long history of working within the Pentagon, and has worked with Biden closely in the past.
When he was vice president, Biden worked with Austin in a variety of positions, most prominently when he was commander of CENTCOM from 2013 to 2016, during which they had discussions on a range of issues including the Middle East and Central and South Asia. Before that, but still during Biden’s time as vice president, Austin was vice chief of staff of the Army and commanding general of US forces in Iraq.
Gen Austin, who led US Central Command during the Obama administration, would need a congressional waiver as it is less than seven years since he retired.
Mr Biden’s reported decision comes two weeks after he announced other senior members of his national security team.
Mr Biden and Gen Austin have so far made no public comments on the issue.
Earlier media reports suggested that the Democratic president-elect would nominate veteran Pentagon official Michèle Flournoy for the job. She would have been the first woman to hold the position.