My, oh my. How quickly the worm turns. Remember the instant love affair with General James “Maddog” Mattis? Trump was so tickled pink, he couldn’t contain himself, “leaking” the appointment in a rally several days before the formal announcement. Democrats found him acceptable, and Republicans hoped he would be a steadying hand at Defense to rein in his erratic boss. The petals seem to be falling off of this particular rose now too, at least in some quarters.
To be clear, I have yet to read, see, or hear any indication that Trump is unhappy with General Mattis, hell, he might not even remember he put him there. But Politico is REPORTING that this Kumbaya feeling for Mattis is rapidly fading in Congress;
But Republican lawmakers and senior congressional aides said in recent interviews they’re running out of patience with Mattis' staffing decisions, which have disappointed Republican members of the Senate Armed Services Committee hoping to see their ideological allies elevated to senior levels in the Defense Department. Others are grumbling about Mattis’ refusal to advocate a bigger increase in the defense budget, which defense hawks believe was gutted disastrously under President Barack Obama.
It turns out that the lawmakers banshee wailing and moaning can be traced back to the fact that Mattis isn’t playing the game. The GOPasaur mantra is that “Republicans win, Republicans staff” They have pushed for insider favorites like former VA Congressman Randy Forbes, who lawmakers wanted as Sec’y of the Navy, and former MO Senator Jim Talent, who has been floated for several senior posts in defense. Instead, Mattis has refused to play the game, not nominating them, and instead has chosen to go for people who actually have the skills for the jobs they’re being put in. Cue GOP plumage being severely ruffled.
But it’s even worse for the GOP’s poor, tender fee-fees. Not only is Mattis not playing ball with them, he is going to the extent of stepping into the territory that the GOP would consider treason;
The defense secretary has also rankled Republicans with his efforts to hire veterans of Democratic administrations, pushing unsuccessfully to bring on Michèle Flournoy, who served as undersecretary of defense for policy in the Obama administration, as his deputy. He has more recently proposed to the White House nominating Clinton administration veteran Rudy DeLeon as undersecretary for personnel and readiness and Richard V. Spencer, a former Marine and investment banker now affiliated with the bipartisan Center for a New American Security, as secretary of the Navy.
Oh Lord! Warm the tar, and tear open the feather pillows. Putting a Democrat into a Republican administration? Has the man lost his reason?
It’s not like Trump didn’t know what he was getting into. Mattis had bipartisan respect, and was known as a competent head for national security, but he made it clear that he would be independent, not kowtowing or toeing any White House or GOP line. How much more can Mattis get away with before finally having to at least acknowledge the realities of politics in government?
This is just one more rock on a pile that Mein Furor doesn’t need. He’s under FBI investigation, his health care bill is on the rocks, his credibility is approaching the point that the nation wouldn’t believe him if he said there are 24 hours in a day, his own House caucus is threatening mutiny. He really doesn’t need another pissing contest between an appointee that he clearly loves and his own lawmakers over running the DoD. Right now this kind of seems to be under the radar with everything else that is roiling around politically these days, but just kind of keep an eye on it. Once things settle down a little bit, this could turn out to be a turf war of the highest order, and what will the Orange Julius do about it?