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Senate Confirms Mattis as New Defense Secretary

By Carla Babb January 20, 2017

The U.S. Senate has confirmed former Marine General James Mattis as the new secretary of Defense.

Lawmakers made the confirmation votes hours after President Donald Trump took office Friday. Mattis was approved with a vote of 98-1.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis served as the commander of U.S. Central Command and was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander for transformation while in uniform. He retired from service in 2013.

Before Mattis could be confirmed, Trump had to sign a waiver into law that excepted the retired general from a rule requiring military officers to spend seven years out of uniformed service before becoming defense secretary. The rule is meant to assure the American principle of civilian leadership of the military.

The waiver passed in the House and Senate last week, and Trump signed it into law as one of his first official moves in office Friday.

Former Marine General John Kelly is expected to be confirmed as Homeland Security Secretary later Friday. He served as the commander of U.S. Southern Command, which oversees American military operations in Central America, South America and the Caribbean, before retiring a year ago.

Neither general was seen by experts as unfavorable picks.

Democrats think Mattis will be a strong check to Trump's unpredictable nature.

In his confirmation hearing last week, Mattis called for greater military support for European allies as Russia attempts to "break" up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that Trump has called "obsolete" and expensive.

He also suggested the battle to take Islamic State's de facto capital, Raqqa, perhaps needed to be "energized on a more aggressive timeline."

Kelly told lawmakers in his confirmation hearing that a border wall would not prevent illegal immigration "in and of itself."

He also said the U.S. would need to confront drugs and drug violence in South and Central America, which spur northward migration.