mr. austin. issue that is obvious is the discussion of the erosion of civilian control and for dissipation and influence. that was highlighted by the national defense security document the chairman has displayed . but the situation there was not something thatt ws happening in an instant . was taken place over the years and part of that i believe is the lack of confident civilian authorities in place. there are any individuals i suggested in my statement, that are acting and there are others who are civil servants who we push up into jobs that normally require confirmation. and there's been a lack of candidates for confirmation. so i would ask you if you are yourrmed, will you do utmost to ensure that every position, civilian position in the department's field. w nominees. i know you have to work for the white house . and that other individuals be put into positions where they are both skilled and qualified. austin: absolutely senator reed. i will do everything i can to move as quickly as i can to

mr. speaker, lloyd austin -- mr. brown: mr. speaker, lloyd austin would be the first african-american secretary of defense. his confirmation is more than a symbolic milestone towards genuine integration of the department of defense. it's a substantive answer to many of the challenges that the military faces. what are those challenges, mr. speaker? white supremacy and extremism. there's a dramatic rise in white supremacists and racist hate grumes within our military. they -- hate groups within our military. a survey found an alarming rise in white supremacists and racist ideology in the military. what are those challenges, mr. speaker? the lack of diversity and inclusion at our highest ranks and in our coveted career fields. racial and ethnic groups make up more than 40% of the nation's military but there's a significant lack of diversity in civilian and military leadership at the most senior levels. due in large part to systemic racial bice in promotion and assignment boards. this hurts the military. our readiness and our effect

mr. speaker, lloyd austin -- mr. brown: mr. speaker, lloyd austin would be the first african-american secretary of defense. his confirmation is more than a symbolic milestone towards genuine integration of the department of defense. it's a substantive answer to many of the challenges that the military faces. what are those challenges, mr. speaker? white supremacy and extremism. there's a dramatic rise in white supremacists and racist hate grumes within our military. they -- hate groups within our military. a survey found an alarming rise in white supremacists and racist ideology in the military. what are those challenges, mr. speaker? the lack of diversity and inclusion at our highest ranks and in our coveted career fields. racial and ethnic groups make up more than 40% of the nation's military but there's a significant lack of diversity in civilian and military leadership at the most senior levels. due in large part to systemic racial bice in promotion and assignment boards. this hurts the military. our readiness and our effect

mr. austin? gen. austin: we need to have the right kinds of capability to be able to counter the emerging threat. again, i look forward to having the conversation with the department of the navy. if that is the analysis divided by the navy, i have every reason to believe it is accurate. i really would like to have a conversation in more depth. sen. wicker: let me quote another army man, but distinguished chairman of the joint chiefs, general milley. he said just last month, "i'm an army guy and i love the army but the fundamental defense of the united states and the ability to project power forward will always be for america's naval and air space power." i would commend to you that statement and suggest that the additional seapower is going to be necessary. i want you to comment, and i will ask you because we are time constrained, to comedy about the idea of facing two additional destroyers and rhoda, spain, to be there to combat russian aggression. mr. chairman, because only have two seconds, i will t

mr. austin. with that i will yield. >> thank you very much, senator cramer, and on behalf of the chairman let me recognize senator kaine and thank thank r joining here in d.c. >> thank you to our chair and ranking, thank you to the witnesses. let me just first begin acknowledging this -- [inaudible] -- senate hearing since the events of last wednesday and i just want to make a comment about it. people that sort of try to describe what happened, is it all right? is at a protest? is it first amendment activities? if the sedition? i think the constitution that we swear to uphold and defend gives us an answer. the 14th amendment of the constitution has section three that talks about insurrection or rebellion against the constitution of the united states, and that clause has some significant consequences for those who either engage in that or give aid and comfort to those who do. what happened was not just a random attack on congress as an institution. it was an attack that was specifically designed a

mr. austin has a career in the army but those days are behind him. a secretary of defense he promised to empower and lift up the civilian staff and i believe he will be an outstanding secretary of defense for everyone at the pentagon who serve as members and civilian employees alike. the secretary of defense of course has a hugely important task ahead of him. he must once again demonstrates to the world that the u.s. military will always support our land and deter our adversaries and if necessary defeat them. lloyd austin is the right person for the job. he has the experience, the vision to run the largest agency in our government. i look forward to confirming his nomination shortly. afterwards the senate must continue to install president biden's team by confirming secretary of state homeland security and treasury. we need republican corporation to c confirm these nominees bute expect that cooperation to continue. the continuity of our national security military and intelligence policy as well as our ability to effectively respond to the current hea

mr. austin has been out for almost five years but does not meet the seven-year requirement, so we need to pass this law to give him that exemption. this is not an easy question. civilian control of the military is enormously important and that is why this law was put in place. but in looking at this i feel

mr. austin has a storied career in the army, but those days are behind him. as secretary of defense he promised to empower and lift up his civilian staff and i believe he will be an outstanding secretary of defense for everyone at the pentagon. service members and civilian employees alike. the secretary of defense of course has a hugely important task ahead of him. he must once again demonstrate to the world that the u.s. military will always support our friends, deter our adversaries and if necessary defeat them. lloyd austin is the right person for the job. he has the experience, the vision and the competence to run the largest agency in our government. i look forward to confirming his nomination shortly. afterwards the senate must continue to install president biden's team by confirming secretaries of state, homeland security and treasury. we need republican cooperation to confirm these nominees, but we expect that cooperation to continue. the continuity of our national security, military and intelligence policy as well as our ability to effectively respon

season 2 iron that's made it to season 2 mondays at 11 pm on the usa network this the us more while mr austin how are you my friend man i'm doing great i proceeded to have known it's been a long terms of syrian person. that blonde time little brother i have to give you thanks as a north texas university you know i'm a pittsburgh boy thank you for gifted us with joe greene who arguably the greatest .

mobile mr austin how are you my friend man i'm doing great i appreciate you having me oh no it's been a long terms of syrian person that blanca listen brother i have to give you thanks as a north.

mobile mr austin how are you my friend man i'm doing great i appreciate you having me oh no it's been a long term sam see you in person that blunt tab listen brother i have to give you thanks as a north texas university you know i'm a pittsburgh boy thank you for gifted us with joe greene who arguably the greatest i don't know there's been learnt taylor there's a few but you've got to put joe green on the mount rushmore deep sense of place did you play the line there steve where ya heard enough to play d. line like joe green did or what did you play you know i went there is a linebacker dennis and a but me on a kickoff coverage i'm a junior season so rehab the rest of the season and i started all next year and week sad defense of him so i was only. a group back to mean joe green i was such a pittsburgh fan back in the day i was you know really.

season 2 plan that's made it to season 2 mondays at 11 pm on the usa network and this the s m a while mr austin how are you my friend man i'm doing great i appreciate you having me oh no it's been a long term sab see you in person that blonde time listen brother i have to give you thanks as a north texas university you know i'm a pittsburgh boy thank you for gifted us with joe greene who arguably the greatest i don't know there's been lawrence taylor there's a few but you've got to put joe greene on the mount rushmore deep sense of place did you play the line there steve where ya heard enough to play d. line like joe green did or what did you play you know i went there is a linebacker dennis a number but me on a kickoff coverage i'm a junior season so i really had the rest of the season and i started oh next year and week sad defense of him so i was known to be latin and go back to mean joe green i was such a pittsburgh fan back in the day i was you know only guy in texas it's a bird stealer so we sure you know are not my favorite team now. but unload the steelers now because they were thumping

mr. austin is a four-star army general. he served as army chief of staff under president obama and later became the 12th commander of u.s. central command. next in succession, attorney general. and you might recognize the nominee. judge merrick garland, a familiar name. in 2016 president obama nominated him to succeed late supreme court justice antonin scalia. former senate majority leader mitch mcconnell blocked the nomination. currently judge garland serves in the d.c. circuit. confirmation hearings for him have not yet been scheduled. finally, the secretary of the interior who oversees federal lands and resources, national parks, and federal programs related to indigenous groups. that's what makes this nominee so significant. new mexico congresswoman deb haaland is the president's nominee. if confirmed she would become the first native american cabinet secretary in american history. those hearings also have yet to be scheduled. we will shift back to the justice department when we come back. it's under new leadership. but

mr. austin and mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator joe legrand. >> congratulations, general, on your nomination and thank you for your appearance and your decades in military service. i must announce that i oppose the waiver of the seven year cooling off period. my decision reflects notot at al on you personally or the record but rather congress should no longer grant such waivers at all. i supported it for general matus with reservations four years ago which i quickly came to view as a mistake and i've since regretted. for that matter upon further record i believe the waiver was also a mistake. nunder no foreseeable circumstances can i imagine supporting such again. general austen, my reasons are distinct and separate from your nomination. it m put simply it's the same reason we have a cooling off period. some of those reasons are simply not something you can address but grant reassurance and others you can give reassurance and i will give you that opportunity and a moment. among those concerns that i

mr. austin, 67, will become the department's first black secretary.oe biden will keep on christopher wray as the fbi director. back to your calls on the virus. the rollout of the virus battle plan yesterday from the white house. al is calling from hawaii, independent. caller: thank you for taking my call. i have a few topics. you should try to get a guest on, a professor from harvard, he is very happy about the biden administration selecting -- he is for the antigen test, not for diagnostic -- this is a key factor -- but for using the antigen test for screening. several people have called c-span asking to get him on. he is a busy guy. he is the most brilliant advocate for this and can make a strong case with politicians who are probably listening to the show before they go into make decisions about what to do with the money. it will take a few billion dollars. his guess is a couple of billion. it will take a few different manufacturers because these antigen test's -- i am in hawaii, by the way. we have had big issues with testing for people flying to

austin, texas. i apologize. let's go to norman, illinois. >> thank you, mr. chairman. secretary designate, congratulations on your ascending path. i am looking forward to working with you as we go forward. as you know, i am an appointee to the board of directors, and i look forward to working with you and the department of transportation. i have been watching what the board of directors at amtrak have done recently in fine-tuning the operation and making it more fiscally responsible to its ridership and the country. as a mayor, you know the importance of long-term strategic planning, budgeting, and forecasting. that is what makes cities successful, when they have a longer-term vision. unfortunately, amtrak does not have that opportunity as their funding comes from annual appropriations. i would like to hear from you your thoughts on a longer-term funding stream for amtrak so they can engage in engineering, capital expenditures over a longer time, and critical infrastructure repairs. these cannot be done in year-to-year appropriations, and they need a steady stream of l

mr. biden's nomination of retired army general lloyd austin for secretary of defense. >> on this vote, the yeas are 366, the nays are 78. the bill is passed. >> lawmakers voted to waive a ban on recently >> alcindor: lawmakers voted to waive a ban on recently retired officers serving in that role. the senate approved the waiver as well. and today, there was also a hearing for the president's choice for transportation secretary. pete buttigeig, the former mayor of south end pete buttigieg, the former mayor of south bend, indiana, and once a primary rival of mr. biden, promised to work to rebuild an economy ravaged by the pandemic. >> infrastructure can be the cornerstone to all of this and you have my commitment that i will work closely with you to deliver the innovation and the growth that america needs in this area. >> alcindor: amid the covid-19 pandemic, that's one pledge from the new administration among many. >> woodruff: and yamiche joins us now from the white house. so, yamiche, this was day one for this new administration. overall, how would you say it's going? >> this is day one,

mr. biden's cabinet members are on on the job, including former general lloyd austin, the nation's firstan american defense secretary. and we expect that two more of president biden's cabinet picks for treasury and state will be confirmed early next week. and over the weekend, members of his economic team are going to be speaking with a bipartisan group of senators to try to find some common ground on a new covid package. norah. >> o'donnell: they're working around the clock. all right, nancy cordes, thank you. and there's breaking news: the senate just said president trump will go on trial february 8. he faces one charge of inciting the capitol riot. cbs' kris van cleave has late reporting from the capitol. >> reporter: for tecond ti in just over a year, an article of impeachment against president donald trump will be walked across the c a immediately triggering the start of the former president's trial. >> the senate will conduct a trial of the impeachment of donald trump. it will be a full trial. it will be a fair trial. >> reporter: tonight, majority leader chuck schumer announced th

austin, texas. the museum showcases the legacy of the nation's 36th president. mr. lawrence also answers questions from viewers and national archives foundation executive director patrick madden. the foundation hosted this event and provided the video. patrick: hello. welcome, everyone, to the national archives foundations virtual program series. i'm patrick madden, the executive director of the national archives foundation, and we're really glad you've joined us this afternoon for a wonderful program. through the program, we are able to share the treasures. this will afternoon you'll hear a lot about a texas who made quite a bit of difference in our country's history. by now you have been receiving our american experience e-mails on tuesdays or our history snacks e-mails which are crafted with content for our young

austin goolsby. one of the things that bothers me about the proclamation made by mr. biden.e's going to repeal the trump tax cuts only for the wealthy. but the trump tax cuts cut taxes for the middle class. before i came on, the trump tax cuts cut the middle tax rates to 22% within and below the middle class from 15 to 12%. is he going to repeal those, too? >> he said from the beginning he will leave the ones at the bottom, and he will repeal the 85% of the costs of the tax cuts that went to the top people. he has to get legislation to do that. that's not one of the executive orders. but he's been clear about that from the beginning. dan: austin, you know i respect you, but that's not accurate. he may have later cleared that up. but that's not true. he has not been clear from the beginning. he said multiple times is he's going to repeal the trump tax cuts. he said from the start as well, well, trump never cut taxes for the middle class. you can't have it both ways. either you are going to preserve the middle class tax cuts or trump didn't cut taxed for the middle class. so d

austin, texas. the museum showcases the legacy of the nation's 36th president. mr. lawrence also answers questions from viewers and national archives foundation executive director patrick madden. the foundation hosted this event and provided the video. patrick: hello. welcome, everyone, to the national archives foundations virtual program series. i'm patrick madden, the executive director of the national archives foundation, and we're really glad you've joined us this afternoon for a wonderful program. through the program, we are able to share the treasures. this will afternoon you'll hear a lot about a texas who made quite a bit of difference in our country's history. by now you have been receiving our american experience e-mails on tuesdays or our history snacks e-mails which are crafted with content for our young historians on fridays and enjoying that content. we're delighted to launch the presidential library series today. some of you who have visited presidential libraries know about the archives, presidential library passport where you get stamps as you go ar

austin. watch the confirmation hearings on c-span, c-span.org are listed on the c-span radio app. [applause] [applause] >> thank you. mr. speaker, may i proceed? thank you, speaker shepherd. and to senate pro tem jimmy hickey, and to the honorable members of the general assembly. thank you for that warm greeting. let me assure you that is gratefully received. and hopefully that signals a strong relationship, as we enter this session. i also welcome those members joining from the senate chambers, and those joining from the public. first, let me extend my congratulations to the new members. by my count we have 20 members newly elected in this session. and for some it is a return in a new role and for many others this will be your first regular session. as you remember, when i was elected governor, we hit the ground running. and we did not intend to slow down. so buckle your seatbelt because we have a lot of work to do. now, this marks my seventh year as governor. today will be the last time i address the general assembly in regular session. thank you for not applauding on that last line. [laughter] today, we begin this s

mrs. aaron. my deepest condolences. that on the day the senate voted overwhelmingly to confirm retired general lloyd austin as the first african-american secretary of defense. the general speaking out against racism and extremism during his confirmation hearing. >> we also owe our people a working environment free of discrimination, hate and harassment. and if confirmed, i will fight hard to stamp out sexual assault and to rid our ranks of racists and extremists. >> this is a day that georgia's first black u.s. senator tweeted the last time i was here in 2017 capitol police were escorting me to central booking for leading a nonviolent protest for an immoral budget. this time -- lock at that picture -- they just had to show me to my office. hmm. hmm. lord works in mysterious ways with wonders to perform. black excellence on disdisplay. you see it and you hear it from vice president kamala harris. >> i kamala harris solemnly swear -- >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states -- >> that i will support and defend the constitution -- >> black excellence on display. we rise, as maya angelou wrot

mr. secretary, thanks so much for joining us. i know you advocated for a waiver for general austin. i assume you know general austin.rs in the u.s. military. what do you say to those senators who are worried this potentially could erode the principle of civilian control of the u.s. military? >> i think you have to look at the person nominated. his character, quality, ethics, and relationship with the president of the united states. as you've indicated earlier, we are under attack. there is a war going on. and so the president felt it very important that he have someone he can trust who has diplomatic skills to be sure but organizational skills. i think the general play, or the secretary will play a very important role in the organizational distribution of the vaccines as soon as they can be produced, so i think under those circumstances i would look at the man, i'd look at the moment, and say, yes. there is a rule about not having out of service seven years. sometimes you have to waive it particularly when you are attacked by an enemy and we are attacked by an enemy now. so as a war time president we need to have a

austin, bbc news. germany's christian democrats have announced the winner of the race to lead angela merkel�*s party, the cdu. he's armin laschet, widely seen as the heir to mrss. and he's now in pole position to replace angela merkel as chancellor when she stands down later this year. so what do we know about him? mr laschet is currently the premier of north rhine—westphalia — germany's most populous state. he's seen as a political centrist who'll continue mrs merkel�*s consensual brand of politics. that extends to immigration where he's taken a liberal approach to the issue. in particular, he supported mrs merkel when she was under pressure for welcoming syrian refugees in 2015. mr laschet speaks fluent french and his wife is of belgian heritage. the new cdu leader cultivates an everyman image — highlighting that his father worked down a mine. well, in a speech, mr laschet told delegates he wanted a strong european germany as a leader in the world. translation: the germany i envision is a european germany - _ leading the world by excellence, example, and humanity. i'm saying out loud and clear. we will not let right—wing terrorists and troublemakers destroy

mr. rose: in terms of anything the white house said, i refer you to the white house. but what i can tell you is that from the perspective of secretary austin, within just his first day establishing this as his number-one priority and firmly stating that this department stands ready to do anything it can to support the president's efforts, fema's effort, all the while not sacrificing our capability to defend this nation, that is where we stand right now under secretary austin. >> people were tasked to come up with a plan and they didn't end are you saying those same people will stay in charge of the distribution? mr. rose: i don't think that is the correct way to look at this. what the administration is doing in the department of defense support for president biden's strategy of defeating this pandemic as quickly as possible, that is where we are right now. i can tell you in my first week, as i look at the men and women in uniform who are serving this nation and have served this nation for years, i have the utmost confidence in their ability to execute this plan. >> i will go to the back, tom. >> what percentage of individuals at the pentag

austin texas. >> we do not see him yet. we will see where we can find him. >> the vice chair of passenger rail. >> thank you mr. chairman. congratulations on your ascending path. i look forward to working with anyou as we go forward. as you know i'm an appointee to the indirect board of directors and i look forward to workingrt with you and the department of transportation. i've been watching what the board of directors have done with amtrak recently in terms of financially fine-tuning the operation making it more fiscally responsible to its ridership and to the country. as a mayor, you know the importance of long-term strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting. that's what makes a city successful, they have a vision. unfortunately, amtrak doesn't a have thatir opportunity as their funding comes from annual appropriations and so i think i would like to hear from you about your thoughts on a longer-term funding stream so they can engage in engineering, capital expenditures over a longer period of time and critical infrastructure repairs. these can't be done in the year to year appropriations and they need a steady stre

austin. watch the confirmation hearings on c-span, c-span.org are listed on the c-span radio app. [applause] [applause] >> thank you. mr. speaker, may i proceed? thank you, speaker shepherd. and to senate pro tem jimmy hickey, and to the honorable members of the general assembly. thank you for that warm greeting. let me assure

mr. biden's cabinet picks is already facing roadblocks. >> reporter: that is the transition had hoped for quick approval for two nominees in particular, alejandro majorkas and lloyd austint now missouri senator josh hawley says he still has questions unanswered about the nomination of mayorkas and says he wants questions answered as for general austin, he needss a waiver from congress because he left the military fewer than seven years ago, and the house of representatives is set to vote on that waiver on thursday a waiver from congress because he left the military fewer than seve shep shep >> kayla, thank you. >>> >> kayla, thank you. >>> as we wait for the last-minute pardons, we're getting a clearer sense of what he sees as his legacy. the president laid it out in his departing message, a nearly 20-minute video previously recorded and posted to the white house youtube channel this afternoon. it's a departure from recent presidents whose farewell addresses have been delivered live in primetime. cnbc's eamon javers is in washington tonight eamon, please tell our viewers how the president describes his time in office >> reporter: yeah, he describes it as a success, shep

mrs. a.m. curtis. her actual name was -- gertrude curtis and her first name was often shortened to nama. though as with standard practice at the time, she had adopted the initials of her husband austin for the bulk of her public and professional career. now she was an exceptional woman who no doubt would have taken exception to being characterized or labeled as a negro subversive by military officials. while we cannot know whether or not these specific words critiquing discrimination, segregation and lynching were uttered by her, it had clear that m.i.d. viewed her as someone whose political activism on behalf of african-american officers threatened military order making her wary of surveillance. this was a seat change in how she was formerly viewed by the army which had treated her as the quintessential matriach. fever outbreaks during the war had comp husbanded the health of the u.s. army to such an extent that civilian and military officials authorized new protocols to expand its enlistment criteria beyond the commonplace prerequisites. because of a belief that african-americans were immune to yellow fever an idea inforged in the crucible of american slavery black women were recr

austin the same question at his hearing this afternoon. can you, i know i am almost out of time, can you talk about our response to putin's taking into custody mr navalny should be? mr. blinken: it is extraordinary how frightened vladimir putin seems to be a one-man. i think that speaks volumes. and mr. navalny is a voice i think for millions and millions and millions of russians. and their voice needs to be heard in russia. and the attempts to silence that voice by silencing mr. navalny is something that we strongly condemn. we've spoken to it. and will continue to do so. i would say more broadly this is probably a subject for ongoing conversations. we talked about the challenges posed by russia, a whole series of fronts is also one that is urgent. i have to say that i think members of this committee, particularly senator romney, have been very prescient when it comes to the challenge posed to us by russia. there is a lot to be talked about there, but this is very high on the agenda for an incoming administration. senator shaheen: thank you, mr. chairman. senator rubio. senator rubio: thanks for your willingness to step back in and serve our c

austin the same question this afternoon. can you finally, i know i'm almost out of time, but can you talk about what our response to putin's taken into custody, mrnavalney should be and how we should continue to put pressure on russia? >> it is extraordinary now frightened vladimir putin seems to be of one man and i think that speaks volumes. and mr. navalny is a voice, i think, for millions and millions and millions of russians and their voice needs to be heard in russia and the attempts to silence that voice by silencing mr. navalny is something that we strongly condemn and we've spoken to it and we'll continue to do so. i would say more broadly and this is probably a subject for ongoing conversations, we've talked about the challenges by russia on a whole series of fronts is also urgent. i have to say that i think members of this committee, i think senator romney have been prescient when it comes to the challenges posed by russia, this is high on the agenda for an incoming administration. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator shaheen. >> thank you, senator rubio. >> thank you, mr. blinken for being here and thanks for y

austin issued a memo to the pentagon leadership requesting an expedited review of dod's sexual harassment and assault prevention, and accountability measures. as head of the v.a. do you plan on doing something similar? mr. mcdonough: iq, chairman. if confirmed, on day one i will lean into this issue to try to set a culture that underscores such activity will not be tolerated. that the department has to ensure that, not only the department's workforce but also the fastest growing cohort of veterans, namely women veterans, have confidence they will be treated with respect and given the access they have earned. sen. tester: thank you, denis mcdonough. sen. moran: thank you. mr. mcdonough, i have been a critic of what i describe as executive overreach. i believe article i has the ability to give congress an important responsibility. administrations over a long period have chipped away at that balance. if the executive branch was less aggressive and the congressional legislative branch was more aggressive. i have tried -- you were involved in administration i criticized for being aggressive and executive orders. but i tried to balance that by saying part of the problem is congress does not do with job. it l

mr. lloyd austin? a lot. mr. austin has been nominated to lead one of america's most trusted institutions, the department of defense. many of us have worked hard over the last few years to rebuild our military strength and readiness, but i think we can all agree that there's been too much turmoil at the top of the pentagon. as its civilian leader, i am confident that mr. austin will bring steadiness, leadership, and respect to this indispensable american institution. now i got to know mr. austin in 2005 and 2006. serving together in an army- heavy combatant command conducting combat operations throughout the middle east, we had what might be referred today as an unequal power relationship. he was a two-star general. i was a major. he had spent years on active duty. i was a reservist. he was a soldier. i was a marine. i was just one of hundreds of field grade infantry officers recalled to active duty, deployed in the region during a challenging time for our nation. but when i asked for his time, mr. austin gave it.