WASHINGTON – (This event is now over. Click here to read the latest.)
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris are expected to formally announce their choice for the secretary of defense.
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The announcement will take place in this article at 12:30 p.m., but delays are possible. If there is not a livestream available, check back at a later time.
Biden has made his case for retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to be secretary of defense, making him the first African American to lead the Pentagon.
The president-elect has urged Congress to waive a legal prohibition against a recently serving military officer running the Pentagon.
With concern rising in Congress about eroding civilian control of the military, Biden on Tuesday suggested he felt a need to counter an emerging narrative that Austin's nomination blurs the lines between civil and military roles.
“Given the immense and urgent threats and challenges our nation faces, he should be confirmed swiftly,” Biden wrote in The Atlantic. It was his first public confirmation that Austin is his pick for Pentagon chief, although word had leaked out Monday, prompting criticism and skepticism from some in Congress.
Austin served 41 years in the Army, retiring four years ago.
Read more: Biden’s Pentagon nominee puts some Democrats in a bind