‘I winced a little,” said a former GOP national security official on the number of retired senior officers already working on Biden’s transition.
The Democrats’ 2020 platform was unambiguous: Donald Trump had damaged the civil-military balance and Joe Biden would repair it.
But the president-elect has quietly slotted his own coterie of former military officials into key transition positions and is now ready to tap a retired general to run the Pentagon.
The moves have sparked concerns that Biden may further undermine the delicate balance between civil and military authority after Trump’s norm-busting presidency included enlisting multiple retired officers to fill top civilian positions and even seeking a congressional waiver to appoint retired Gen. Jim Mattis as Defense secretary — a position traditionally reserved for a civilian.
Already, Biden’s transition team has appointed at least four retired generals or admirals and a former top enlisted Marine. And POLITICO reported on Monday that retired Gen. Lloyd Austin is his pick to be the next Defense secretary.
The concerns reflect the difficulty Biden’s team will encounter as it tries to live up to the standard Democrats set during their four years of Trump criticism. Even if Biden is not eschewing norms the way Trump did, his team’s choices will be scrutinized for any evidence the incoming president is straying from the traditions he has pledged to uphold.
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Joe Biden has quietly slotted his own coterie of former military officials into key transition positions and is now ready to tap a retired general to run the Pentagon https://t.co/HQR6LrSkQ8
— POLITICO (@politico) December 8, 2020
“Congress has enacted an exception one time since the creation of DOD. And waiving the law should happen no more than once a generation. I will not support a waiver for future nominees.”
— Sen. Jack Reed
It would be better for the country if Gen. Austin declined the nomination.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) December 8, 2020
Nothing but respect for Lloyd Austin, but picking another 4 star so recently retired that he needs a congressional waiver sends a terrible message. @jimgolby https://t.co/u0LXljziLp https://t.co/MuNHGChTl8
— Rosa Brooks (@brooks_rosa) December 8, 2020
Goddammit. Maybe I’ll be proven wrong, but this seems like the wrong move. https://t.co/V6YQtMbBbU
— Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) December 8, 2020
Well, except that the ranking member of the armed svcs committee already said he doesn’t wanna do another waiver https://t.co/f5osjiYV3T
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 8, 2020
It's not a matter of disrespect for General Austin. It's a question of civil-military relations, expertise, and the need for new leadership in an institution that does not have a stellar record on women. But even without all that, a *second* waiver in four years? Bad, bad idea. https://t.co/w1sK1YOS3F
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) December 8, 2020
I follow a lot of experts in civilian-military relations and cannot find one tonight who likes this pick. (And Biden campaign was pretty clear about fixing this.) https://t.co/7R9TS3IKul
— Olivier Knox (@OKnox) December 8, 2020
If a waiver is granted so soon after Mattis, it will eviscerate the statutory requirement of a seven year cooling off period.
If you're wondering why that's bad, read @jimgolby:https://t.co/HpYfe0h3Ww— Rosa Brooks (@brooks_rosa) December 8, 2020
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