Miller-Meeks Votes for General Lloyd Austin's Waiver

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, January 21st, 2021, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) released the following statement regarding her vote to grant a waiver for General Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of the Department of Defense:

“Today, I voted to grant a waiver to retired General Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of the Department of Defense in the Biden administration.

I believe General Lloyd Austin is immensely qualified to serve as the Secretary of Defense. In general, I have significant reservations about granting exemptions from the statutory requirement that service members be out of uniform for at least seven years before running the Department of Defense. The hiatus between active duty command and civilian leadership of the nation’s defense is in place to deter war. Therefore, this should be an extraordinarily rare occurrence so it does not cement a bad precedent.

Facing a similar situation in 2016, retired General Jim Mattis was granted a waiver, despite 151 democrats voting against granting an exemption. General Mattis fully comprehended and was committed to strong civilian control of the military and comported himself in an exemplary manner. General Austin has assured members of Congress that he understands and supports this foundational principle.

Further, I ask members of Congress to secure commitments from him and the Biden administration to restore the U.S. commitment to civilian control of the military for this crucial principle.

Even though I have similar concerns expressed by other Republican colleagues, granting an exemption in the U.S. House of Representatives does not relieve the Senate of its duty to completely vet and then decide to confirm General Austin. It is through the Senate hearings and confirmation where these concerns should be addressed.”

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