if it's wednesday, coronavirus patients are flooding hospitals. top health officials warn the vaccine will not stop the spread for months. for americans who can't afford to wait, still no financial relief plan from congress. plus, what we do and do not know about the coronavirus vaccines. new questions about side effects, allergic reactions and why the shot does not mean an end to masks and social

distancing. we will talk to a doctor on the fda advisory board. president-elect biden is set to officially announce what is a controversial choice for defense secretary this hour as his latest cabinet pick is raising a different kind of concern that democrats will have the barest of majority in the house to start the year. ♪ welcome to wednesday. it is "meet the press" daily. i'm chuck todd. mayors and governors on both sides of the aisle are calling on congress to act immediately as the health crisis and economic crisis in this country spiral out of control. hospitals overwhelmed. health care workers overwhelmed. americans try to pay their bills and keep food on the table, also overwhelmed in some parts. right now, 104,000 americans are hospitalized with the coronavirus. this is now the third skef d

consecutive day that hospitalization numbers have set a report. according to "the new york times" more than a third of americans live in areas where hospitals are running critically short of intensive care beds and 1 in 10 americans across the midwest, south, and southwest live in an area where beds are full or fewer than 5% are available. covid has not eliminated the risk of heart disease, strokes, things like that. while the president keeps projecting optimism on the virus and the vaccine, his top health advisers do not occur. msnbc contained a copy of the coronavirus task force report. we have to obtain these things because the white house does not publicly release this material! any way. this new report urges state and local governments to do more to stop the spread saying, quote.

deborah birx said the exact same thing on sunday more than with me, by the way. the federal government remains deadlocked what economic help it will provide to help them do that. this morning, a group of lawmakers unveiled a framework of its bipartisan plan which includes $300 billion for the paycheck program and extension of unemployment benefits but here is what the deal does not include, any direct payments to americans. direct payments were part of a different plan presented yesterday by treasury secretary steve mnuchin but that plan has already been rejected by house speaker nancy pelosi an senate democratic leader chuck schumer. congress hoping to leave washington for the year nine days from now, many of americans livelihoods remain in the balance. here is what expires at the end of this year without any deal from congress. pandemic emergency unemployment

compensation, gone. paid sick leave protection. if you or a loved one gets the virus -- gone! the renter eviction moratori moratorium -- gone! home foreclosure more toatorium gone. the list goes on. those are the highlights. that is what is at stake. we spent a lot of time talking about the politics. this is the direct assistance we are talking about. all of those little things, i'm guessing at least one of them matters to you watching right now. joining me now, is garrett on capitol hill and kelly o'donnell and peter baker. the center of the inaction on capitol hill, i would say the center of action but i feel like we are at inaction. garrett, we got a little bit of good news, weirdly enough, when one of our top bookings got cancelled on us. it was senator dick durbin.

he was going to be on the program and apparently all senators have been told to be close hold. don't do tv, be as close as possible. giving us the idea that something was happening. what do you know? >> reporter: i don't know about that but i do know there is progress what has remained the stickest issue of this relief negotiation and this covid liability shield. this is something that was considered a republican must-have earlier in the process, yesterday. mitchell mcconnell floated the idea of dropping is that from the bill if democrats would be willing to drop their demand for state and local aid money, something that democrats do not want to do. now, there is an expanded group of senators trying to come up with a solution on that liability relief -- liability shield portion of this. look. nobody wants to see a relief measure or an emergency measure go down over something that is perhaps one of the least tangible elements of this package to regular people. so there is this expanded group working on that issue here,

trying to hammer home the idea that this is emergency relief and that money spent now is far more useful to the american people than even more money potentially spent in the spring. so the work continues. democratic leaders have been trying to provide cover for this bipartisan group basically saying this is the only game in town. stop with the outside offers from the white house and stop trying to undercut this group. let them do their work and that work continues. >> well, it's funny. yesterday, you want to talk about total confusion. so mitchell mcconnell, his idea of compromise was no liability and no state and local government aid. then the white house comes in and they offer more state and local aid. that looked like this way of gumming up the process, which i guess the democrats leadership decided it was. our mnuchin and mcconnell not speaking? what is going on between those

two? >> ironically, mcconnell plan from a week ago is what he said is exactly what the white house two agree to and only 500 billion dollars. the plan that mnuchin put out last night was nearly double that. you have to wonder what the coordination is between the two groups. it's a mess and hard to see who is negotiating with whom. i think that all circles back to the bipartisan group. maybe their proposal will become enough of an actual bill that could be tamped to the spending bill and actually pass on its own. or maybe the ideas from it will be taken and cobbled together by leadership into something else that they can attach. but, you know, the proposals from the white house have fallen flat. democrats have been essentially rejecting them more or less as quickly as they can come cross the line here. they want to focus on the bipartisan relief americanshsys. i think the thinking among the bipartisan group if you spend on

this spending on expanded unemployment benefits is better use of the money and more targeted and to the people who need it more rather than a shotgun blast here is $600 across the board than that targeted emergency aid. >> that is is the difference is this relief or stimulus? >> exactly. >> one could argue the direct checks is a stimulus and maybe something you want later down the road versus relief. thank you, garrett, for getting us started. the man at the center of the inaction, we hope that there is action soon. let's move to the white house where kelly o'donnell is. are the white house players in this or not? >> reporter: the president is focused on one thing very heavily and it's not what you were just discussing. he seems to be most focused on trying to overturn the election, all caps with a #. that is a stark reminder. to have mnuchin involved suggests that white house would

like to see this resolved. we know the president's position is he would like to see relief go to those who have been hurting and could be one of the cap stones in his time of office of providing that but he is not engaged in and not talking about it publicly. he is much more focused on the vaccine and doing sort of a victory lap on that before it's fully others here in the u.s. of course, the administration has explained, and they deserve credit for the speed with which the different scientific companies have come together and produced vaccines that are now on the doorstep of being available for use in the united states, but the president has been focused on that. today, we know he reached out to one of the officials in arizona who has been an ally of his, kelly ward talking about trying to get that -- what he is describing as courage, in quotes, for any member of a state legislature or a legal team or even the justices of the high court or state supreme courts to do something to overturn and intervene in the

election. that is where the president's energy, where his voice has been most focused today. of course, when we talk about the vaccine, he is also trying to tout that and here is how he captured it at his operation warp speed event just to give you a sense of what the president has been saying. >> every american who wants the vaccine will be able to get the vaccine and we think by spring, we are gsoing to be in a positin nobody would believe was possible just a few months ago. amazing. really amazing. they say it's somewhat of a miracle and i think that is true. >> reporter: if the president is in any way thinking about legacy, it seems to have to do with vaccine at the moment. chuck? >> yeah. it's interesting, they have already had to clarify that the president's comments is really end of the second quarter which really could be summer, not spring when it comes to making good on that promise as

everybody wants a vaccine. >> reporter: always something has to be adjusted. always. >> always with this president, for sure. kelly o'donnell, thank you. peter baker, it's not a shock that while the country is focused on covid, a lot of people are hurting, both health security and financial surety security. this president is acting like captain ahab searching for this white whale that is somehow going to overturn this election rather than working on being president, which one might argue might help him have more people believe anything else he says. so he seems to be in some sort of delusional state of denial here. >> that is what some of his own advisers have told him, you know, be prepared to concede. it's time to give up the ghost. you're not going to win this thing. there is no path to victory for him here. he lost the popular vote by 7 million and lost the electoral

college vote by the same margin he won it four years ago. we have passed the safe harbor deadline' electors are voting in five days. they tell him to focus our legacy and the accomplishments you have put in place that you can brag about and one is the vaccine which you saw him talk about yesterday. at the same time, he is talking about the vaccine and, obviously, it is a record speed accomplishment to get a vaccine this quickly. the scientists involved, obviously, are the first line of people who did that. there is so much to happen between now and the time that most people get that vaccine. that is the thing, right? it's not the end of the story to say there is a vaccine and everything is over. it's not over. we have already had 53,000 people, think about that. 53,000 people in the united states have died since election day alone of covid. another 97,000 could die if we keep up the same pace by inauguration day. nobody is going to get a vaccine

other than these restricted categories of people by then. there has got to be something between now and then and now and spring that americans can do and we didn't hear the president talk about that yesterday. >> no. the death toll is going to be his legacy too and i think that is something that he may -- is going to find ha going to have have to learn to live with. the president is continuing with -- it ems sseems the more closed off to any legal path to try to find ways that delegitimatize certain state elections, he seems to be grasping for more -- he is using more inartful language, he is sort of grasping and he is using #now overturned. he, himself, wants the election overturned. to go from rigged election to overturn if you can move the bar, somehow he figured how to move the bar into a more dangerous territory here.

again, elected republicans i guess because of georgia, are just continuing to either prep te -- pretend he is not doing this or hope it goes away on january 6th. >> yeah. you're exactly right. i think that tweet today overturn in all caps was rather stunning. a sitting president of the united states calling for the duly conducted fair and free election of the american people to be overturned by some method other than the popular will. and, you know, it has been resisted by a number of people who are republican on the state and local level, whether it be governors or secretary of states of state, republican-appointed judges. supreme court yesterday didn't give the back of his hand by an effort by the ally of the president's to overturn the pennsylvania election. they dismissed it with a single sentence because they didn't see worthy to say anything further. yet the president seems to push this idea that somehow somebody somewhere will allow him to cling to power against the

popular will. remarkable to think he thinks that could happen. maybe he doesn't think it's going to happen but feels a need to put it out there in narrative. >> are we looking at this all wrong? is this -- he knows he lost, so what he is trying to do is cling to control of the republican party? >> yeah. i could go back and forth in my own head about this. does he think he genuinely won and was robbed even though zero evidence to say that and even his own attorney general said that? or he is pushing out a narrative to explain defeat. we know this guys doesn't like to be a loser. he said again and again his thing in life to him that he is never loses. he cannot stomach losing this election. the idea of a stolen election, as fraudulent as it is, clearly is at least partly to set a narrative i didn't lose the election even if i leave the white house on january 20th i

was robbed and i may come back in four years. >> in some ways, i understand. one-term presidents are, you know, always deemed presidential losers, sorry, mr. polk. peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "the new york times," thank you. ahead, president-elect biden is set to announce general lloyd austin as his choice for dk secretary of defense. we will bring that live press conference when it comes. vaccine reality. even after you get a shot, masks and social distancing will be with us a quite a while. if you ask people in the uk who just been vaccinated, they will tell you it's still very much worth it. >> doesn't hurt at all. >> amazing something so important is so simple. >> it is, isn't it? got it done. >> reporter: any reservations? any worries? >> no. you always have thoughts, don't

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we remain confident that across our portfolio, multiple vaccines, we will have enough dose for any american who wants a vaccine by the end of the second quarter of 2021. >> welcome back. that is hhs secretary alex azar moments ago and operation warp speed update adjusting the time line that the president gave yesterday on when vooaccines wi be available to much of the country. canada is another one to approve the pfizer vaccine. the united states could be next. the fda advisory board is set to

meet tomorrow. today a day after the uk began injections new data highlights how much there is still to learn about the vaccines. uk regulators are issuing a warning that those with severe allergy after two adverse reactions to the shot. they wi joining me now, is dr. james hildreth who is president of maharry medical college. good to have you, doctor, joining us. let me start with the first -- i find this to be the most unnerving part of the vaccine -- a vaccinated person, can they spread the disease? i know we don't know the answer yet. how long in the trial process is it going to take for us to know for sure? >> well, chuck, first of all,

thanks for having me. i'm pleased to be with you. it's really going to take some time to know the answer to that question. for one we know transmission can happen when people are asymptomatic and we don't know if the vaccine prevents infections that would yield an asymptomatic infection. until we know the answer to that question, we won't know the answer to the larger question of whether or not the vaccine prevents transmission of the virus. >> what are the concerns you want to address and what will be addressed tomorrow at this meeting when it comes to those allergic reactions we saw took place yesterday on day one of their vaccine injections? >> chuck, it's not unusual when you introduce a new vaccine or drug that some people will have allergic reactions to them. what is going to happen now is that the investigators in the uk and at pfizer will try to identify what is it in the formulation that caused the allergic reaction and then they

will screen individuals who might have that allergy from leaving that particular vaccine. it's not unusual. in fact, not unexpected, that a low, low frequency that people will have allergic reactions to the vaccine. as a matter of fact, in screen participants to participate in the vaccine studies, the question is asked specifically, do you carry an epi pen or have severe allergies? an effort is made to make sure those individuals do not participate in the trial in the first place. >> scott gottlieb who is a former head of the fda, he proposed the idea that said, hey, with the pfizer vaccine, the two shots, don't hold back additional dosages yet. vaccinate as many people you can with the first shot and basically hope you get enough vaccine to properly do the second shot when you can. versus, you know, correctly

deciding -- versus not assuming you're going to have that supply in time and holding it back. where are you on that question? i get the argument. if this is an emergency, hey, 50% is better than nothing and you're doubling the amount of people. where is your head on that, sir? >> i disagree with that strategy. i think we need to fully immunize the persons with the vile vials that we have and get additional vials to immunize the rest of the population. we know partial protection after the first dose. but having partial dose may make it worse since we don't know if after the first dose does not transmit transmission. my opinion is to vaccinate those with two shots. >> there is a lot of assumption

that the fda is going to approve the pfizer maybe tomorrow or the day after that and moderna soon after that. how confident are you we will have four or five vaccines, say, by april 1st? >> certainly, chuck, the two mr moderna and pfizer's vaccines look very, very promising and it's not been predecided but the committee is likely to approve those two, i think, in my opinion. so there will be at least two vaccines available to us. the astrazeneca vaccine a different platform looks promising but a few things need to be sorted out there. i think it's very likely by the third or -- second or third quarter of next year, there might be as many as four vaccines available to inject or provide protection for the public and that is very exciting. i think it was a wise decision

made to assume different platforms because i think that is to interreveal itself. >> what is your bigger concern? not enough vaccine for the demand that is there the first six months? or that too many people are not going to take the vaccine, whether it is communities of color due to the history of this country and sort of vaccine experimentation, or just distrust of government, in a bigger way, among other groups of americans? >> chuck, i'm really concerned about the vaccine hess taitancy especially among the african-americans. we need to make a concerted effort to find trusted messagers that we can give enough information that they feel comfortable and encouraging people to participate, because unless at least 80% or 90% of us

are vaccinated, we will be dealing with this virus a long time to come. >> who are those folks? >> who are those feolks? >> i assume you'll take one in public. i assume leading african-americans, whether in medicine, are going to do their best. is that the best way to solve this problem? >> well, there are two groups in particular that come to mind. one is health care workers. health care providers, physicians tend to be trusted by their patients. we need them to be on board. faith leaders are another example of trusted messagengerse need to have on board and other public figures who earn the trust of people in communities. we have to make sure they are comfortable being witness to get the vaccine because i think that is going to have a huge impact. but the trusted messenger piece of this cannot be overestimated, how important that is.

>> i definitely think that that is -- i'm with you. i have a feeling that is going to be our challenge come the summer of next year. >> yes. >> hopefully, it's not worrying about having enough vaccine. that, i hope, is not the case. dr. james hildreth, thank you for coming on. >> thank you, chuck. president-elect joe biden is expected to speak in delaware shortly where he'll announce his pick for secretary of defense. we have an exclusive interview with other biden top west wing picks. stay tuned with katy tur the next hour. she will speak with chris krebs who was fired by the trump administration and is suing the trump campaign. s suing the trump campaign eze) skip to cold relief fast. alka-seltzer plus power max gels.

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i've been taking prevagen on a regular basis for at least eight years. for me, the greatest benefit over the years has been that prevagen seems to help me recall things and also think more clearly. and i enthusiastically recommend prevagen. it has helped me an awful lot. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. welcome back. any minute now, we are expecting president-elect joe biden to formally introduce his pick to secretary of defense. retired army general lloyd austin. it creating a cabinet pick controversy with biden within the democratic party. we know tanden and becerra will have republicans pushing back on them but this is causing consternation in interparty affairs. biden is defending his choice of austin in an op-ed in "the atlanta." it's pushing congress to grant

the waiver to allow austin to serve on the post as a former member of the military. my colleague jeff bennett special exclusively to another of biden's level picks. a former presidential nominee, john kerry as his new role at climate envoy. jeff bennett joining me now. a lot of excitement about john kerry's appointment putting him that high profile on the issue has excited the community and people working in the west wing and working at apa and working at interior very nervous. how does he plan to walk that line? >> reporter: it's a great question and i asked him directly about the potential for back channeling, right is in the notion there are world leaders who know him, given his vast experience on the world stage, who might try to go through him as a conduit to the president or future president biden and john kerry, the sec said he is not at all sender about that, that he

is, you know, all too aware of the rules and protocols in place and he noknows tony blinken andy respect the fact that tony blinken will be secretary of state if confirmed in the biden administration. we sat down to talk about how he will tackle climate change and combat climate change. his chief task of course, after january 20th will be helping to navigate the u.s. back into the paris climate agreement that land mark accord which he helped craft. i pointed out to him in the last five years since that deal was signed, the last five years have been the warmest on record. you also have the u.n. saying that countries have failed to cap greenhouse emissions. i said did the paris agreement need to be stronger? >> yes, absolutely, yes, it has

to be stronger. one of my missions on behalf of the president and the country is to help created the dynamic where we are bringing reluctant partners to the table because they see the benefits and creating momentum among countries to go to glasgow why we have to show the people the road and if we fall short on that road, we have to be honest about it. i'm confident we can get there. the issue is are re going to get there in time? and that is our race. this is our moon shot. >> i also asked him about china. how do we partner with china when they are a competitor when it comes to trade? and a threat when it comes to national security. how do we partner with them on climate? we spoke extensively about that. i also asked him how he intends to rebuild trust on the world stage when it comes to tackling

climate change and he said that the election, the overwhelming election of joe biden speaks a lot to that and helps to restore credibility. chuck? >> jeff bennett, it will be very interesting. john kerry, i think, will be a fascinating player in all of this and i think there is real passion behind it so i think it's worth it. thank you, jeff. with me is former democratic senator claire mccaskill. always good to see you. let me start with the issue of general austin. how do you view the waiver law when it comes to is it designed to truly -- i mean, when should this waiver be enacted, in your view? when it is somebody so exceptional, nobody else can do the job in that moment? or is the waiver the way it works out now which is, well, if this is what the president wants, see if congress agrees

and then fine? where is your head on this? >> well, keep in mind this waiver has been a moving target. it started out at ten years, then brought down to seven and that seven number is an arbitrary number. you know? general austin has been out as a civilian for four years. so really what senators and congress folks are going to have to do is say, you know, is four years enough for him to temper his military service with a view of civilians running the pentagon. i actually think that because of the historic nature of this nomination -- keep in mind, chuck, over 40% of the active military are people of color. that is a big number for us never to have had a black secretary of defense. and so i think it's going to be hard for senators to go, well,

it was okay for mattis but not okay for austin? so that gives you 17 democratic no's. you don't need that many more republicans to get to 51 in terms of confirmation or for a waiver. >> look. senator, you've made the case. i get how this vote happens, right? he is going to get the waiver for what you said, like literally how do you defend if it was good enough for mattis, how is it not good enough for austin. let me ask the question this way. the notion of playing into the stereotype you can't have a democrat actually run the pentagon. barack obama had two republicans at two different times. chuck hagel and bob gates. bill clinton had bill cohen. are you concerned about that look that somehow -- i feel like this is some sort of virus inside democratic presidents

that win where there is this nervousness. i don't want to look weak at the pentagon so i better, you know, i better reach across the aisle or i better find somebody who wore the uniform. i think it reinforces a stereotype that doesn't serve the democratic party well. what are your thoughts? >> i think -- you know, i think you're right, except i would say it might be that that was a job that those presidents could get republicans to serve in. i know that barack obama reached out to a lot of republicans to serve in various members of the cabinet. but secretary of defense was one where he was able to attract a republican that was willing to serve. so i'm not so sure that it's some kind of embedded bias of democratic presidents that a democrat can't run the pentagon. i think it's more that in an effort to be a bipartisan president, you put republicans where they are willing to serve and department of defense is one place they were willing to serve. >> overall, i do find -- what do

you make of what is clearly a pattern here? there are people that joe biden can't be talked out of and there is clear, you can tell where his picks are his picks and then you can tell the ones where they feel like they have to placate. it's obvious of that between the ones that the president-elect says, no, no, no. you're not talking me out of this. look. i read one anecdote general austin and beau biden. no way he is talked out of it. how look is it it's obvious these cabinet posts are the ones you playcate for politics? >> i live out in the country and i think you're being way too cynical. >> fair enough. >> i get it. biden really wanted austin, i think, because they worked together. this is not, you know -- >> totally agree.

>> by the way, this is an amazing respected figure within the military and he and joe biden have a long time relationship. you know, what president doesn't want someone like that in an important position? i think all of the people he selected -- i don't think joe biden is being forced to take anybody that he is not comfortable with. there may be some he is closer than others and that is true for all presidents. i do think all of us that do this 24 hours a day trying to read the tea leaves, we maybe working too hard to read the tea leaves. i think he is trying to find good qualified people and have his cabinet look like america. >> right. but, at the same time, it does seem as if you could tell, look. you can make a political argument on some, but he is not listening on all of them is my point. >> you know, maybe. and maybe he is pushing some more than he is others because of a personal relationship.

but i'm willing to bet you that what happens when every single process of presidents making cabinets. >> well, that is for sure and it's something -- it's something that only a handful of people know how that works. it's only a handful people in our lives have been elected president. senator claire mccaskill, nice to get your opinion. >> you bet. what is behind the latest lawsuit to overturn the election results? we are waiting on president-elect joe biden to announce his secretary of defense and we will bring you that event the second it starts. order in the app for quick and easy pickup. or, get contact-free curbside pickup! staying home? get delivery! so many ways to get footlongs contact-free! subway. eat fresh. -well, audrey's expecting... -twins! grandparents! we want to put money aside for them, so...change in plans.

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president-elect biden introducing lloyd austin right now. >> the united states military. helped end a war and literally bring tens of thousands of troops home safely. he is loved by the men and women of the armed forces, feared by our adversaries and known and

respected by our allies, and he shares my deeply-held belief in the values of america's alliances. and he is just as committed as i am to rebuilding and modernizing those alliances from the ace pacific to europe and around the world. through sheer determination and extraordinary skill, he has been breaking down barriers and blazing a trail forward in this nation for many years now. for more than 40 years. and he has a long way to go and he is going to do it again. so, today, i am honored to nominate former general lloyd austin as the 28th secretary of defense. i want to thank you, general, you're a friend but i want to thank you, general austin, for once more stepping forward to serve your nation. this is not a post he sought but i sought him. i want to thank you and your

family for once again sharing you with our country and i thank charlene. today, i am know how proud all of -- they all are of you, all four of your children, your older sisters and your brother. i knew the reason why you were a good man. you had to have sisters to raise you along the way, right? i know mine did me and she is much younger. and your incredible wife charlene. i mean that sincerely. tomorrow i'll told that jill and charlene will spend time together sending off packages to our soldiers april broad. she and jill are both passion with supporting military spouses and families and i know they will will be a powerful advocates for that community together. and, you know, they are going to both be working at the white house in the defense department together to make sure our families -- i said before, general, america only has many

obligations and one sake rid obligation, to care and equip those we send to war and to care for their families when they are gone and to care for them when they come home and they are families. i got to know general austin during my early days as vice president. president obama had charged me with overseeing the end of operation iraqi freedom and ensuring the orderly withdraw of our forces and equipment from iraq. general austin was with me on the ground, not just for meeting with troops or for military strategy sessions. he was there when i was working with iraq's political leaders. i watched his political skill how he dealt with them. they respected him across the board. when i met with the leaders of our coalition partners, the same thing. and he was there during one particularly memorable incident when we were at a meeting at the ambassador's residence in the green zone. the insurgents launched a rocket attack on the house.

of course, general austin w, it was just another day at the office. he sat there and kept on going so i sat there and kept right on gong. everyone wondered what in the hell are they doing? he is cool under fire, inspiring, the same and all of those around him. that is lloyd austin. he was the person president obama and i entrusted with the incredible task of bringing home america's forces and re-deploying our military equipment safely out of iraq. it was the largest logistical operation undertaken by the army in 60 years, and getting it done required much more than military know-how. general austin was a diplomat. it was not an easy task. he built relationships with our iraqi counterparts and with our coalition partners. he was a statesman representing our country with a skill at --

that, you know, at tables that i've sat with him with foreign leaders and i wondered whether or not he was from the state department or from the defense department. both military and civilians. i'm not exaggerating. he has a way about him. always, above all, he has looked out for his people. out for his people nap is why he needs some soldiers leader. in this time in the united states army lloyd austin met every extraordinary skill and profou profound. working to grow more inclusive and more diverse. he is the 200th person to obtain the rank of four-star general but the sixth african-american to do that. he was the first african-american general officer to lead the army core in combat. the first african-american to command an entire theater of

war. and in confirmed he will be the first african-american in the department in well over 200 years. another milestone. and he is a barrier breaking throughout his entire career. he retired more than four years ago. but the law states that an officer must have left the service seven years before becoming secretary of defense. there is a good reason for this law that i fully understand and respect. i would not be asking for this exception if i did not believe this moment in our history didn't call for it. it does call for it. and if i didn't have the faith that i have in lloyd austin to ask for him. i believe in the importance of civilian control of the military, so does the secretary designee. he will be bolstered by a strong and empowered civilian sector and senior officers, senior

officials, i should say, working to shape the policies making sure they're accountable to the american people. and i know that secretary austin will work tirelessly to get it back on track. i personally work with this man. i have seen him leading american fighting forces on the field of battle. there is no doubt in my mind, no doubt that he will honor, respect, and lead into the civilian leadership in military matters in our nation. i know this man. i know his respect for the constitution. i know his respect for the system of government. so just as they did, i asked the

congress to grant a waiver for secretary designee austin. i think our uniquely suited for the challenges that we face now, the crisis that we face now. he is the person that we need at this moment. in and given the surgt threat, he should be confirmed swiftly. he need his experience, the large scale distribution of covid-19 vaccines. his experience building and managing relationships, engaging in diplomacy with our partners. and we need his first-hand knowledge of the immeasurable cost of war and the burden that it places on our service members

and their families to help bring to an end the forever wars and ensure that the use of force is the last tool in our tool box. the last tool resorted to protect our national security. not the first. the personal experience to make sure that our armed forces reflect the full strength and diversity of our nation nap black, latino, women, men, lbgt, service members are treated with dignity and respect. more than 40% of our active duty forces. they are taking to deter threats where ever they arrive.

and she is designated to lead in the strategy with the dozen of partner nations to ultimately crush isis. 23 you don't think that requires diplomatic skill, and you don't understand what it going on, he did a heck of a job. the threats that we face today is not the same as ten years ago or five years ago. we must prepare to meet the challenges of the future. not just keeping fighting wars of the past. we must build a foreign policy that leads with diplomacy. revitalizes the state department, revitalizes our alicenses. putting american leadership back on the table and rallying the world to meet global threats of

our security. nuclear proliferation to the refugee crisis. as part of our diverse national security team, he knows how to do this work. before i turn the podium over, i want to end on a note of personal privilege. as a leader, general austin always followed the advice given to him by his first platoon sergeant. my son beau biden was in the military, he said i don't have any illusions, he said i know who runs the united states army, platoon sergeants. here is what the sergeant told him "if you focus on your people, take care of them, get out in front and lead them, they'll refuse to let you fail" that is why he has inspired so many young people that fork for him and give their very fwoes live up to his example of

leadership, including for a time a young lawyer serving a year in iraq as a captain. my son, beau biden. i know how proud beau was to serve on his staff, and i know that under your leadership, the department of defense will advance the securitity of the american people in a way that always honors our highest values and ideals. i thank you again and may god bless america and may god protect our troops and now i would like to turn it over to general austin for the department of defense.

>> mr. president-elect, madame vice president elect harris, thank you for your trust, your confidence, and the opportunity to serve as the 28th secretary of defense if confirmed by the united states senate it will be my sincere honor and privilege to return to the department and to believe that our great service members and civilians in accomplishing the mission of ensuring our nation's security. in 1877 a young man from the small town of thomasville, georgia, henry osian flipper was

the first officer to graduate from the united states military expressway at west point. he was african-american. he was assigned to one of the army's all black regimens and became the first non-white officer to lead the buffalo soldiers of the 10th calvary. fast forward to today, nearly 150 years later, another native son stands before you as the secretary of defense designate. many people have paved the way for me and countless others over the years to include henry o'flipper. i am grateful to them for their courage, for their determination, and the example they set throughout. and they include the tuskeegee

airmen. and general wims an my old platoon sergeant who you heard the president-elect just talk about. i was a brand new second lieutenant and they took me in and taught me the way of the world. i owe him and many others a great deal. as sir isaac knewton said, if i have seen a little further, it is by standing on the sold