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Austin, who retired in 2016, needs a waiver of the law to be without a uniform for seven years before becoming Pentagon chief. Congress also granted a waiver to retired Naval General Jim Mattis to head the Department of Defense under former President Donald Trump.
The waiver must pass the House and Senate, in addition to a Senate confirmation vote.
The House is expected to vote on the waiver on Thursday afternoon. Austin is ready to brief the House Armed Services Committee behind closed doors before the vote.
Senate leaders, meanwhile, have launched a hotline – a process used to expedite bills – on House waiver, meaning the Upper House could quickly pass the measure once it is passed. adopted if no senator opposes speeding up its consideration.
The selection of a second four-star general in four years as head of the Pentagon has shocked lawmakers on both sides who have expressed concerns over the erosion of the already precarious principle of civilian control over the military.
The closed-door House briefing replaced a scheduled public hearing with Austin on civilian control of the military. Despite the lack of public broadcast, Democrats have expressed confidence that a waiver will pass without incident.
House Armed Services Speaker Adam Smith (D-Wash.) Urged Democrats to back a waiver in recent days, and privately expressed confidence that a solid number of Republicans will back the measure.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also leaned on Democrats to support Biden’s choice during a caucus call Thursday morning.
“Can you give the President of the United States the benefit of the doubt?” Pelosi asked members, Democrats said on call.
Austin also garnered support from new Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed (DR.I.) and rank-and-file Republican Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma.
In a statement announcing the vote, the panel warned that the full Senate “will not vote to confirm Austin until the committee receives and reviews Austin’s responses to questions for the record.” But Reed called for Austin’s confirmation “as soon as possible.”
“The Senate must work together to protect the American people,” Reed said in a statement. “It is urgent and widely recognized to move forward with the establishment of a new national security team.”
However, several members of the Senate Armed Services from both parties telegraphed that they would not support a waiver – including Republican Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Richard Blumenthal. of Connecticut.
But Austin largely went through a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, pledging to empower civilian voices in the Pentagon, respond to congressional oversight and extend the terms of his ethics deal that prevents him from taking decisions that affect defense contractor Raytheon Technologies, where he was a crew member.
Heather Caygle and Andrew Desiderio contributed to this report.
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