Latest Lloyd Austin News
US warplanes, ships and troops ready in the Middle East if the conflict expands
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has kept an increased military presence in the Middle East throughout much of the past year, with about 40,000 forces, at least a dozen warships and four Air Force fighter jet squadrons spread across the region both to protect allies and to serve as a deterrent against...
Jill Biden and Lloyd Austin visit an Alabama base to tout expanded military benefits
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Jill Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled Friday to Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama to highlight programs that the Pentagon and White House are rolling out to improve service members' quality of life as well as early childhood education in the military....
Blinken wraps up Ukraine-focused Europe trip in Poland with arms requests on the table
WARSAW (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a three-nation, Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland on Thursday after hearing repeated appeals from Ukrainian officials to use Western-supplied weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia. Blinken traveled to...
US aircraft carrier in the Middle East is heading home
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon's rare move to keep two Navy aircraft carriers in the Middle East over the past several weeks has now finished, as the USS Theodore Roosevelt is heading home, according to U.S. officials. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered the Roosevelt...
Alabama Sen. Tuberville blocks quick promotion of top aide to Defense Secretary Austin
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville is blocking the quick promotion of the top military aide to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin over concerns that he and other senior staff did not immediately notify President Joe Biden when Austin was hospitalized with complications from cancer...
Pentagon chief says a six-month temporary budget bill will have devastating effects on the military
WASHINGTON (AP) — Passage of a six-month temporary spending bill would have widespread and devastating effects on the Defense Department, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a letter to key members of Congress on Sunday. Austin said that passing a continuing resolution that caps...
News organizations seek unsealing of plea deal with 9/11 defendants
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seven news organizations filed a legal motion Friday asking the U.S. military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to make public the plea agreement that prosecutors struck with alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two fellow defendants. The plea...
Zelenskyy presses US military leaders to let Ukraine strike deeper in Russia
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Ukraine needs the ability to strike deep within Russia now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told U.S. and allied military leaders Friday as Kyiv more fervently pressed the West to loosen weapons use restrictions and allow it to target Russian air bases and launch...
Pentagon leaders head to Germany for talks on Ukraine military aid
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. military leaders will be in Germany to discuss Ukraine's wartime needs as Russia has conducted one of its deadliest airstrikes in the conflict and Ukraine presses its offensive in Russia's Kursk region. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. C.Q. Brown,...
Lawmakers ask Pentagon leaders to commit to keeping the military out of politics and the election
WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of Congress are pressing the Pentagon's top two leaders to ensure the military is not swept up in politics during the presidential election and that active-duty troops are not used illegally as a domestic police force. The concerns come as the campaign...
