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Congress

Congress Approves A Waiver For SecDef Nominee Austin, Paves Way For Confirmation Vote

By Matthew Beinart

Thursday, January 21st, 2021

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Congress Approves A Waiver For SecDef Nominee Austin, Paves Way For Confirmation Vote

Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III responds to a question during his Senate Armed Forces Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C. Jan. 19, 2021. (DoD photo by EJ Hersom)

Congress on Thursday voted to approve a waiver that would allow Ret. Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as the next Secretary of Defense, paving the way for a Senate confirmation vote. Both chambers had bipartisan support to grant an exemption for Austin, who has not been out of the military for the required seven years, with the House and Senate voting 326 to 78 and 69 to 27, respectively. “Today the House sent a clear message: Secretary-designate Austin is an…

Congress

Munitions Fired Represent Most of $25 Billion Spent By Pentagon on Iran War So Far

Munitions fired in the two-month old “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran represent most of the $25 billion cost the Pentagon has incurred thus far in the conflict, the acting Defense […]

Congress

Slotkin: Pentagon Should Use Anthropic’s Mythos To Spot Cyber Security Gaps

The Pentagon should be using Anthropic‘s recently announced Mythos artificial intelligence model to spot gaps in cyber security, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said on Tuesda. “I think the thing that […]

Budd And Shaheen Bill Would Authorize 329 F-15EX Fighters

Two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), have introduced the Airpower Acceleration Act, which would authorize multi-year procurements of […]

Congress

HASC’s Wittman Sees ‘Challenging’ Push For $350B In Reconciliation Funds, Wants Sustained Defense Increase

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.– Congress’ work to pass $350 billion in reconciliation funds to support the Trump administration’s push for a $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2027 defense topline is “going to […]