Biden to introduce retired Gen. Austin as his defense secretary nominee

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday will introduce his nominee for defense secretary, retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin.

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will hold the event in the afternoon in Wilmington, Delaware, a day after they introduced their health team, including California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dec. 8, 202002:15

If confirmed by the Senate, Austin, 67, a retired four-star general and former head of U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, would be the first African American to lead the Department of Defense. The Senate would need to grant Austin a waiver from a law requiring a period of retirement of at least seven years from active duty military service before becoming defense secretary.

Austin was also the first African American to lead Central Command, which directs U.S. military operations and activities with allies and partners in the Middle East and parts of Africa, Central Asia and South Asia. He served in the role from 2013 to 2016 under President Barack Obama.

In other transition news:

• Biden has chosen Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development and former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to serve as agriculture secretary, a position he also held under Obama. If confirmed by the Senate, Fudge, 68, would be the first Black woman to lead the department in decades.
• Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, who was defeated in November, is the leading contender to be nominated for attorney general, three sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News.
• The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up a GOP lawsuit that asked the high court to overturn the state’s certification of Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
• The president-elect vowed Tuesday that his administration would oversee the injection of 100 million Covid-19 vaccine shots within his first 100 days as president and committed to reopening a “majority” of schools across the country in the same time period.

President Donald Trump has no public events Wednesday, according to his daily White House schedule.