Should General Mattis be Granted a Waiver to Serve as Secretary of Defense? (S. 84)

What is S. 84?

(Updated December 4, 2021)

This bill was enacted on January 20, 2017

This bill would create an exception to the rule that prevents people who have been active duty military officers in the last seven years from serving as Secretary of Defense. It would only allow retired Marine Corps General James Mattis to serve in the role — who left the service in 2013 — as he has been nominated to do so by President-elect Trump. Any other person nominated to serve as Secretary of Defense would require a separate waiver.

Argument in favor

General Mattis served the Marine Corps with distinction and is an impeccable choice to serve as Secretary of Defense. His record merits a waiver, and there’s no reason to think he’d undermine the tradition of civilian control of the military.

Argument opposed

General Mattis shouldn’t be granted a waiver, as civilian control of the military is too important a tradition to gamble on a general who only retired a little more than three years ago and the seven year standard should remain.

Impact

General Mattis; the Dept. of Defense in the Trump administration.

Cost of S. 84

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke highly of General Mattis, calling him “a leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops. He is a forthright strategic thinker. His integrity is unshakable and unquestionable.”

Only one waiver has been granted for a Secretary of Defense who recently retired from the military — it went to General George Marshall, who was Army Chief of Staff during World War II. When the post was first created in 1947, a Secretary of Defense nominee had to be retired from the military for 10 years, but Marshall was granted a waiver despite having retired four years prior. The underlying law was left intact despite the waiver, but in 2008 the requirement was shortened to seven years.

Some Democrats have expressed opposition to a waiver for Mattis, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) saying that “civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy.” Despite that, the Senate approved the waiver on a bipartisan 81-17 vote.

Media:

• CNN
  
• Daily Caller
  
• DefenseNews
  
• The Hill