washington<u+2014>president-elect donald trump is considering several retired military generals as possible picks to be secretary of defense, people knowledgeable about the transition process said. retired marine gen. james mattis, a former war commander who has long voiced concerns about the security threat posed by iran, is among those being considered. gen. mattis is expected to visit with mr. trump in new jersey, transition officials said friday. gen. mattis didn<u+2019>t respond to attempts to reach him for comment. also under consideration is retired army gen. david petraeus, a former commander of troops in iraq and afghanistan. army gen. jack keane, who has been advising the campaign, also has been in discussions and met with the president-elect on thursday, transition officials said. the trump campaign also is still considering at least three washington hands for defense secretary, officials have said, including jim talent, a retired republican senator from missouri; stephen hadley, former national-security adviser under president george w. bush; and sen. tom cotton (r., ark.), a one-time army captain from arkansas who has served in the senate since last year. the transition office, based at trump tower in new york, named individuals for key posts, including gop sen. jeff sessions of alabama for attorney general , rep. mike pompeo of kansas to lead the cia , and retired lt. gen. mike flynn, close trump confidant on national security matters, as national security adviser . u.s. law requires the defense department chief to come from civilian life, and retired generals are considered civilians for such purposes only after they have been out of active duty for at least seven years. gens. mattis and petraeus, who both played significant roles in the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan, would require a congressional waiver to serve as defense secretary, since both retired within the last seven years. gen. mattis, who eventually was in charge of u.s. central command, which oversees u.s. forces in the middle east, has found himself at odds with the obama administration over iran and u.s. troop withdrawals from his area of responsibility. gen. mattis, who led a task force into southern afghanistan in 2001 and a division of marines during the invasion of iraq in 2003, is also known as <u+201c>mad dog mattis,<u+201d> a colorful general known for his intellect, a penchant for speaking plainly and his vast library. write to gordon lubold at gordon.lubold@wsj.com
donald trump considering retired general james mattis for defense chief  - wsj
gordon lubold