Last week, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had chosen retired Marine Corps General James “Mad-Dog” Mattis to become the next Secretary of Defense, with many people in favor of the decision, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joseph Dunford.
On Saturday, Dunford, who is one of President Obama’s advisers, was asked at the Reagan National Defense Forum if he had any concerns that Mattis would become the next Secretary of Defense.
Dunford quickly responded by saying “Do I have any concerns, no.”
The audience in the room froze, expecting Dunford to expand on his response, but he chose not to and leave it at that one word. Laughter then broke out as a response.
Mattis will still have to face a challenge to become the next Secretary of Defense as the 1947 National Security Act requires a seven-year gap between active duty military service and the Cabinet position. Mattis retired from the military 3-1/2 years ago.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said last week that she would not back a waiver to allow Mattis to become the next Secretary of Defense.
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