Defense Secretary James Mattis is frustrating key Republicans in Congress after pushing Obama administration holdovers for top Pentagon posts, while not pushing hard enough for defense budget increases, reports Politico.
Mattis, the retired four-star Marine Corps general, received strong support from Capitol Hill in January when he needed a congressional waiver to serve as the civilian head of the Defense Department.
Sworn into office the same day as President Donald Trump, many members of Congress from both parties saw the calm, calculated Mattis as a solid pick to lead the military. But in recent weeks, many of Mattis's strongest supporters have grown concerned, including key Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.
"Could not have a better leader than #SecDef Mattis, but…," tweeted House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry in one of two tweets. "@RealDonaldTrump promise is facing Obama holdovers @DOD who have been fighting against rebuilding & are still undermining agenda," he added.
Rep. Thornberry is not alone in his concerns. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz began circulating a letter among fellow Senate Armed Services Committee members expressing his discontent with Anne Patterson as Mattis’s pick for DoD’s undersecretary for policy.
Patterson, a career diplomat with the State Department, served as an ambassador to several countries during the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations. She also served as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs under President Obama.
Cruz was opposed to Patterson for her willingness to work with Egypt’s former Muslim Brotherhood-aligned government, while serving as ambassador. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, a growing voice for defense policy issues at both the Capitol and in the West Wing, joined Cruz in his opposition to Patterson. Soon after, Patterson’s nomination was withdrawn.
"Sen. Cotton was opposed to Anne Patterson’s nomination because of her lack of DOD-specific experience," Caroline Rabbitt, Cotton’s spokeswoman, told Politico. "Ultimately, he got no assurances that she possesses the know-how to write strategic defense plans that combatant commanders would ultimately have to implement," she added.
Aside from the disappointment with Secretary Mattis’s staffing decisions, other concerns include the lack of advocacy from Mattis for defense spending increases. Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher fears that even Trump’s proposed $54 billion increase in defense spending, cut from domestic programs, isn’t enough. "I suspect Secretary Mattis—who understands how to connect ends, ways and means better than anyone—knows this and hope he will emerge as a forceful advocate for the [defense] rebuild," Gallagher said.
In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since being sworn in as secretary,
that a $30-billion boost in defense funding this fiscal year would show immediate results in increasing military readiness. He said he intends to propose his own defense budget for 2019 next year, according to Politico. But Republican defense hawks worry that they will need something stronger from Mattis before the 2018 mid-term elections.
