(Bloomberg) -- President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team is asking Deputy Secretary of Defense David Norquist to step in as acting secretary of defense, according to two transition officials.
The request comes as Biden faces a struggle to secure congressional approval of his pick for Pentagon chief, retired Army General Lloyd Austin. In addition to Senate confirmation, Austin would need a waiver from both chambers of Congress to take the role because it’s been less than seven years since he retired from the military.
It also comes after Biden and his national security team expressed frustration at a lack of cooperation from the current Pentagon leadership under Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. In December, the Biden team protested an “abrupt halt” in meetings to prepare for the new administration. Meetings have since resumed.
Norquist, whose selection as acting secretary was reported earlier Thursday by Politico, is a veteran government official whose service mostly involved budgetary management, including as Defense Department comptroller and as a congressional aide specializing in the defense budget.
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