Austin's near-unanimous confirmation came despite concerns raised on both sides of the aisle that he hadn't been out of uniform for the legally mandated minimum seven-year period.
The retired four-star Army general served in the military for 40 years including as the first Black general to lead U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
A bipartisan group of 10 former secretaries of defense criticized attempts to challenge November's presidential election and called it a dangerous threat to the nation's security.
