NORFOLK, Va. - Now that President Joe Biden has been sworn in, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) says he has two priorities under the new administration: the pandemic and swearing in Biden's cabinet picks.
During a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting Thursday morning, Kaine says they moved forward with one of Biden's nominees - Gen. Lloyd Austin who has been selected to serve as secretary of defense.
"We first had a vote on the waiver to allow him to serve even though he's only been out of the military for four and a half years, not seven, the normal requirement, and then we voted for him to be confirmed," Sen. Kaine said.
Austin would be the first African American to run the department.
Both chambers will have to grant his waiver before the Senate votes on his confirmation.
Kaine said his other priority right now is the pandemic.
"The Biden administration has set a very aggressive goal of 100 million Americans vaccinated by 100 days into the administration, and that's going to be a challenging goal to reach," Sen. Kaine said, "I think this opening set of weeks is critical."
