Surpirsingly, Democrats didn’t put up much of a fight over the waiver that Gen. James Mad Dog Mattis needed to be eligible to run the Pentagon. Because of retirement rules, the waiver was required in the Senate to allow Mattis to be confirmed. His Senate hearing early today was easy, as Democrats couldn’t muster much of a fight aganist him there either. With the waiver past, and his confirmation a mere formality now, Mattis will take over for Muslim convert John Brennan as head of the CIA.
The House will vote on the Mattis waiver on Friday. If he got 81 out of 98 votes in the Senate, the Mattis waiver will probably get over 300 votes in the House.
| Gen. James Mattis waiver passes Senate 81-17 |
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The vote came within hours of the Senate Armed Services Committee approving the nomination, with only three committee Democrats voting against giving Mattis the waiver.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) touted Mattis’s bipartisan support ahead of the vote.“Many of us have known him for years and years as he has shown the outstanding characteristics of leadership that he has had the opportunity in service to this country,” he said.
Democrats initially resisted tying the waiver to a Senate spending bill late last year, but opposition quickly fizzled after lawmakers reached a deal to simply expedite the process while maintaining a 60-vote threshold.