Gen. James Mattis, Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was slated to appear before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday to talk about civilian control of the military. It’s an important issue since before he can be confirmed, Mattis would need Congress to vote to exempt him from a law requiring retired military officers to wait seven years before becoming defense secretary—but the Trump transition team canceled Mattis’s House appearance. That’s not going over well with Democrats:
"I'm going to urge all House Democrats to vote no on the waiver,” said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. “The Republicans just spent eight years complaining about the executive branch ... usurping legislative branch power, and here's the first move of the new administration is to ignore us on something.”
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters that Democrats would be “very wary” of voting for the waiver without Mattis’ testimony.
Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) said he had been inclined to support the waiver, but he was no longer sure now that Mattis wasn't testifying.
Trump nominates someone who is, under current law, disqualified from being defense secretary. Congress would need to exempt him from the law. And the Trump transition team won’t let him go to the House to make the case for himself. They’re expecting unquestioning obedience from Republicans on this vote—and they’ll probably get it. But Democrats don’t have to go along with it, and they shouldn’t.
Thursday, Jan 12, 2017 · 8:12:19 PM +00:00 · Laura Clawson