Meet Lloyd Austin, the first black defense secretary in America

Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 5:57 AM by Aanu Adegun

- The first black defense secretary has been confirmed in the United States of America

- His name is, Lloyd Austin, a retired general in the country's Army

- Austin was cleared in the Senate with a vote of 93-2, meaning only Republican senators opposed him

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In an action that will go directly into America's history books, Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, has become the first African American to run the defense department.

This is as a result of his confirmation by the Senate following a 93 - 2 decision after President Joe Biden nominated him to the post.

CNN reports that Austin, who retired in 2016 and had to be granted a waiver from a law requiring a defense secretary to wait seven years after active-duty service before taking the job.

Meet Lloyd Austin, the first black defense secretary in America — Lloyd Austin has been confirmed as the first black defense secretary in America. Photo: @LloydAustin
Source: Twitter

He was a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y and he commanded infantry units from platoons up and led soldiers in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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He was the first Black commander of an Army division and corps in combat. He retired after leading U.S. Central Command in war efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Joe Biden, the president of the United States has been criticised for the first actions he took on his first day in office on Wednesday, January 20.

Recall that the newly inaugurated 46th US president signed 17 executive orders on his first day, some of which reversed some policies put in place by his immediate predecessor, Donald Trump.

Reacting to Biden's actions, Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said the US president has headed in "the wrong direction."

The Republican senator condemned many of the executive orders signed by Biden, including revoking a key permit for the Keystone Pipeline XL, rejoining the Paris climate agreement and removing a Trump-appointed general counsel to the National Labor Relations Board.