Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand confirmed after a closed door meeting Wednesday that she’ll still oppose the waiver that retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis needs to be confirmed as secretary of defense.
The legendary Mattis, who retired from the service in May 2013, is looking for a waiver from Congress, in order to accept the civilian position of secretary of defense, but Gillibrand is intent on blocking the waiver, Military.com reports.
Current law states that the secretary of defense must be at least seven years removed from military service before taking on the position, so as to keep alive the tradition of civilian control of the armed forces. President-elect Donald Trump is so convinced that Mattis is the right man for the job that he’s willing to leave the matter to a waiver through Congress to bypass the prohibition.
Gillibrand, however, does not seem interested in cooperating, though she emphasized she respects Mattis’ service.
“And when we created the secretary of defense and when we created the Department of Defense, Congress very intentionally said the secretary of defense will also be a civilian to be consistent with our constitutional requirements of civilian control of the military,” Gillibrand said. “We believe that should not be changed.”
“I still believe that civilian control of the military is fundamental to our democracy,” she added.
Mattis confirmed in the meeting that he, too, believes in civilian control, but that was not enough to persuade Gillibrand.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth is also skeptical of Mattis, but said she hadn’t made a decision on the waiver one way or another.
“I haven’t made a decision, and we have not had any discussions whatsoever. That’s a problem,” Duckworth said. “We are closing the gap between someone leaves the military and when they are joining civilian government, and there needs to be a separation between the military and the civilian leadership of this country.”
Republicans haven’t signaled major opposition. GOP Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, has scheduled a hearing on Jan. 10 to discuss concerns about the waiver process in advance of Mattis’ confirmation hearing on the 12th.
For McCain, however, the waiver hearing seems to be nothing more than a formality.
“We’re going to move forward with legislation to give him a waiver,” McCain said.
The waiver needs 60 votes to pass in the Senate. If Democrats all join together, they could block the waiver. But in the House, if Republicans support the waiver, it will pass without a hitch.
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