Pentagon chief calls Vice President Kamala Harris ‘key player’ on national security issues

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday used a Pentagon press briefing to praise President Biden’s foreign policy accomplishments, while vouching for the security policy credibility of Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumed Democratic choice to replace him in the general election.

It was Mr. Austin’s first press conference since the president dropped the bombshell that was ending his reelection campaign. 

While defense secretaries tend to take a nonpartisan stance, Mr. Austin played a bit role in the series of events that prompted Mr. Biden to step aside. Mr. Biden in a recent interview with Black Entertainment Television defending his record could not recall Mr. Austin’s name, referring to him at one point as “the Black man.”

While saluting what he called Mr. Biden’s “life of service,” Mr. Austin insisted that Ms. Harris also has been a key player in the administration’s foreign policy and national security discussions.

“She’s represented this country in the international area on the international stage a number of times,” Mr. Austin said. “She understands national security [and] international affairs … She has always been there, she’s always been part of the process, and she’s always very engaged.”

Senior Biden administration officials have rushed in recent days to burnish what they say is Ms. Harris’ solid record on foreign policy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week cited many cases where he’d been with her in the White House Situation Room during tense moments, calling her a “leading voice” who asked “penetrating questions” in such gatherings.

Ms. Harris made more than a dozen foreign trips as vice president, including high-profile events like the Munich Security Conference in 2022 and the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. She met one-on-one with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, hours after he and Mr. Biden talked in the Oval Office.

“She has met with key leaders around the globe. She even met with [Chinese President Xi Jinping]. She understands national security and international affairs,” Mr. Austin said. “She’s been a vital asset to the overall team throughout this.”

“That’s what I know from sitting in a room with her for over 3½ years,” he said.

Despite Republican attacks, Mr. Austin said Mr. Biden could be an effective commander-in-chief for the remaining six months of this presidency.

“The president is intensely focused on the work ahead, especially ending the war in Gaza, reinforcing Ukraine’s capabilities for the long haul, and making our posture in the Indo-Pacific even stronger,” Mr. Austin said. “This department will continue to do what we always do — stay firm and stay focused — because we’ve still got a lot to do.”

Mr. Austin, who faced questions about a joint Chinese-Russian military air exercise near the coast of Alaska this week that led the U.S. and Canada to dispatch fighter jets to intercept them, spoke Thursday ahead of what will be his 11th trip to the Asia-Pacific region since becoming secretary. Mr. Austin and Mr. Blinken will be in Japan on Friday for bilateral meetings before being joined by South Korean diplomatic and military officials for a three-way summit in Tokyo.

Mr. Austin and Mr. Blinken then will travel to the Philippines, another U.S. ally that is facing increasing pressure from China over sovereignty disputes.