Today, Congresswoman Stefanik voted in favor of Retired General Lloyd Austin to be considered by the Senate for United States Secretary of Defense. She issued the following statement:
“Today after much consideration, I voted to support a waiver for retired General Lloyd Austin to be considered for confirmation by the Senate to be the United States Secretary of Defense. General Austin has a strong record of leadership throughout four decades of honorable military service. It is particularly encouraging for my constituents in the North Country to have a former 10th Mountain Division commander with a deep understanding of the unique strengths of Fort Drum serve as Defense Secretary. While I support the waiver for General Austin and supported the waiver for General James Mattis in 2017, I believe we must re-embrace civilian leadership and control of the military to uphold the civil-military relationship that has persevered since our nation's founding. I wish General Austin all the best in his confirmation, and I look forward to inviting him back to Fort Drum. I will continue to work closely with the civilian leadership at the Department of Defense to protect our national security."
