washington<u+2014>retired marine gen. james mattis has emerged as president-elect donald trump <u+2019>s leading candidate to be defense secretary, people familiar with the transition said tuesday, but the choice would require congress to pass a special law clearing the way for a recently retired military officer to take the pentagon<u+2019>s top civilian post. the law would be required because the former top officer has been out of the military only 3<u+00bd> years. u.s. laws designed to ensure civilian control over the military require a time period of seven years. gen. mattis<u+2019>s appointment could raise concerns among some congressional lawmakers about an erosion of civilian control, particularly coming after mr. trump appointed retired u.s. army lt. gen. michael flynn as his national security adviser and took adm. michael rogers under consideration as a potential director of national intelligence. but such concerns would be almost certainly offset by gen. mattis<u+2019>s widespread popularity on capitol hill, as well as a desire among republicans and democrats alike to see a seasoned, respected thinker become mr. trump<u+2019>s secretary of defense, after the president-elect made statements about reviving waterboarding and expanding the prison population at guantanamo bay on the campaign trail. <u+201c>i know of few military officers who have more respect than jim mattis,<u+201d> rep. mac thornberry (r., texas), chairman of the house armed services committee, said in an interview with the wall street journal. <u+201c>as far as i<u+2019>m concerned, whatever it takes to keep him in the harness, i<u+2019>m for.<u+201d> sen. jack reed, the ranking democrat on the senate arms services committee, said gen. mattis<u+2019> ascent to secretary of defense would require congress to pass a new bill. <u+200b><u+201d>it is clear that general mattis is a respected marine and strategic thinker who served with honor and distinction<u+200b>,<u+201d> he said in a statement. <u+201c>what is less clear is how congress would go about changing the law to allow him or any recently retired senior officer to serve as the head of the pentagon. that would require <u+200e>a debate about our constitutional principle of civilian control of the military and passing a new bill.<u+201d> senate armed services committee chairman john mccain (r., ariz.) also praised gen. mattis in a statement on monday, saying he hoped the retired marine corps general would be given an opportunity to serve the country again. <u+201c>general mattis is one of the finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops.<u+201d> mr. mccain said. <u+201c>he is a forthright strategic thinker. his integrity is unshakable and unquestionable. and he has earned his knowledge and experience the old-fashioned way: in the crucible of our nation<u+2019>s defense and the service of heroes.<u+201d> the tenet of civilian control over the u.s. military dates back to the founding fathers, who were wary of a standing peacetime army. but the modern rules come from the national security act of 1947, a post-world war ii overhaul of the military and intelligence apparatus that created the department of defense. the 1947 law stipulated that a person must be 10 years removed from active duty in the u.s. military to serve as secretary of defense. congress changed the requirement to seven years in the 2008 national defense authorization act. the notable exception to the rule was george c. marshall, chief of staff of the u.s. army during world war ii, who received permission in 1950 to become harry s. truman<u+2019>s secretary of defense, five years after leaving his army leadership post. congress passed a special law authorizing truman to appoint marshall as secretary of defense even though he hadn<u+2019>t been out of the military for the full 10 years. the 1950 law also specified that congress intended marshall<u+2019>s appointment as an exception and not a change to the rules. <u+201c>[t]he authority granted by this act is not to be construed as approval by the congress of continuing appointments of military men to the office of secretary of defense in the future,<u+201d> the law read. it also expressed the <u+201c>sense of the congress that after general marshall leaves the office of secretary of defense, no additional appointments of military men to that office shall be approved.<u+201d> congress likely would follow the marshall precedent in approving gen. mattis. because there is no provision in u.s. law for a simple waiver, congress would need to pass a law along the lines of the 1950 act, a congressional aide familiar with the matter said. both the house and the senate would need to pass the legislation, likely meaning that gen. mattis would have to appear in front of both chambers for hearings on the special law. once the law is passed, the white house can submit gen. mattis<u+2019>s name to the senate for confirmation following the standard procedure. view graphic rep. adam schiff (d., calif.), the ranking member on the house permanent select committee on intelligence, backed an exception for gen. mattis but warned that his exemption shouldn<u+2019>t become the rule. in a statement, mr. schiff said civilian leadership ensures that uniformed personnel aren<u+2019>t auditioning for political appointments while serving. by design, general officers are supposed to give candid military assessments to civilian leaders regardless of political interests. <u+201c>general mattis is well regarded by members of both parties, and should he be nominated for secretary of defense, congress should entertain enacting a one-time exemption to the general prohibition,<u+201d> mr. schiff said. <u+201c>this should not be done lightly, however, or it risks becoming routine. any statutory exception should be accompanied by the thorough vetting of the confirmation process and mindful of the precedent congress would be setting.<u+201d> gen. mattis, who served in the marines for 43 years and led u.s. forces in both afghanistan and iraq, met with mr. trump over the weekend at the president-elect<u+2019>s golf course in new jersey. afterward, mr. trump praised gen. mattis in a twitter message. <u+201c>general james <u+2019>mad dog<u+2019> mattis, who is being considered for secretary of defense, was very impressive yesterday,<u+201d> mr. trump wrote sunday. <u+201c>a true general<u+2019>s general!<u+201d> other former military officers who have been under consideration by mr. trump for the post include retired army gen. david petraeus and retired army gen. jack keane. the trump transition team also has been considering former sen. jim talent (r., mo.), stephen hadley, former national-security adviser under president george w. bush; and sen. tom cotton (r., ark.), a onetime army captain from arkansas who has served in the senate since last year. <u+2014>gordon lubold and michael c. bender contributed to this article. write to paul sonne at paul.sonne@wsj.com and julian e. barnes at julian.barnes@wsj.com
retired general james mattis seen as leading candidate for defense secretary  - wsj
paul sonne julian e. barnes