President-elect Joe Biden has named many of the individuals he will bring to the White House next year, but has so far been mum on at least very important role -- the Secretary of Defense.
His potential picks include individuals with a wide range of experience -- and no white men.
Michele Flournoy
Previous Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy would be the first female Secretary of Defense if appointed. Recently in the selection process, Flournoy was considered locked-in for the role -- but when the Defense Secretary position wasn't filled in a recent wave of National Security appointments, her selection was questioned, according to CNN.
Flournoy served as under secretary from February 2009 to February 2012. She has served in a myriad of other roles including with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, the Center for a New American Security,
She served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy. Flournoy has also previously served on Democratic presidential transition teams under the Obama administration.
Jeh Johnson
Jeh Johnson served during the Obama administration as the second secretary of Homeland Security and as general counsel at the Defense Department in Obama’s first term.
Johnson would be the first Black Defense Secretary, aligning with the Biden-Harris campaign promise of a diverse cabinet. Secretary of Defense is only one of the roles for which Johnson’s name is being considered. Politico previously reported he could also be appointed as attorney general or director of national intelligence.
Like Flournoy, Johnson has no military experience -- but he was instrumental in the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and served in the Clinton Administration as general counsel of the Department of the Air Force. In his private life, Johnson has been a corporate lawyer with the New York City-based law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Tammy Duckworth
While Tammy Duckworth’s name was tossed about with the other potential picks, she has since been reportedly removed from the table, according to advisors close to Biden, CNN reported. The Army veteran’s significant political and military experience identified her early as a strong candidate for the role.
Duckworth served in the Reserves for 23 years before retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2014. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after representing Illinois’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms. Duckworth lost both her legs and partial use of her right arm during a crash when she served as a Black Hawk pilot in Iraq in 2004.
Duckworth remains one of the few women veterans currently serving in Congress. In fact, this was cited as one of the reasons Duckworth was removed from consideration for the role -- Biden is reportedly reluctant to create vacancies in the Senate, according to CNN.
Lloyd Austin
Another candidate for first Black Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin is a retired four-star general. The former commander of U.S. Central Command and West Point graduate boasts a service history including a Silver Star from the Iraq War.
If appointed, Austin would be one of the few secretaries of Defense to rise to the rank of four-star -- the other recent such secretary being James Mattis. The argument has been made the Defense secretaries must be somewhat removed from the military rather than serving lifelong careers within the same Department they must politically represent.