Ray Mabus: “The Navy and Marine Corps remain the most formidable expeditionary fighting force in the world.”

creating the likelihood that service members will be placed in the impossible position of having to choose between following their commander-in-chief and obeying the laws enacted by Congress.

I want to thank this committee for all that you have done to ensure that the Navy and Marine Corps remain the preeminent fighting force in the world.

It is an example, Senator, of when you miss a year building a ship, because we missed some years--we only built one submarine instead of two--you just do not make that up.

But if you've got someone issuing unlawful orders during that time, trying to hold on to power after an election that they lost, then foreign adversaries, they're going to seize on that.