Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to discuss S. 84, a bill that would provide a one-time exception from the longstanding law that requires a member of the military to be retired from the armed services for at least 7 years before being appointed as Secretary of Defense. We are considering this legislation today because the President-elect's nominee for Secretary of Defense, General James Mattis, has only been retired from the U.S. Marine Corps for 3 years. In considering the unique situation presented by this nomination, this week the Armed Services Committee held two hearings. The first hearing, on Tuesday, had a panel of two excellent outside witnesses who discussed the history of the retirement restriction law and the benefits and challenges of legislating an exception to that law. Then, this morning, the committee held a nomination hearing with General Mattis and examined his views on a wide range of defense challenges facing our country and the Defense Department. General Mattis has a long and distinguished military career, and he is recognized by his peers as a thoughtful and strategic thinker. However, since its passage in 1947, the statutory requirement designed to protect civilian control of the Armed Forces has only been waived one other time. Therefore, I believe it is extremely important that we carefully consider the consequences of setting aside the law and the implications such a decision may have on the future of civilian and military relations.…”