Posted on 12/18/2020 9:48:21 AM PST by 11th_VA
Democrats are trying to tuck a waiver allowing retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as President-elect Joe Biden's defense secretary into a year-end government funding bill that must pass by tonight to avoid a shutdown, three sources familiar with the push tell Axios.
Why it matters: Attaching the waiver to the omnibus would give political cover to some Democrats, including at least four on the Senate Armed Services Committee who have already gone on record opposing it...
(Excerpt) Read more at axios.com ...
Those sneaky Dims...They’ll stoop low...
I am not familiar with his record/reputation. Biden wanting him is probably a bad indicator, but does anyone know much about his record?
Let me guess... the Republicans are racist for opposing a black guy as Defense Secretary?
1. Federal law prohibits former military personnel from serving as cabinet appointees until at least seven years have passed since their retirement.
2. James Mattis was given a waiver by Congress when Donald Trump nominated him to be U.S. Secretary of Defense in late 2016.
3. The Federal law in question is almost certainly unconstitutional, since the President's power to appoint cabinet members is written into the U.S. Constitution and cannot be limited by a statute.
So the whole thing is a stupid formality that only remains on the books because nobody has bothered to push the limits of that Federal law.
It’s not his record, but his time after service. Must be 7 years and he’s barely half that.............
Isn’t he the guy that Obama appointed to implement the policy for openly degenerate homosexuals, transsexuals, cross-dressers in the military?
Can you just imagine having that freak Pennsylvania Health Director running the military? This is where the Rat party has taken us.
The unconstitutionality is not that clear cut. Yes a President can nominate who he wants, but the Congress has the constitutional authority to regulate the armed forces.
General Austin is a Regular Army commissioned officer on the retired list. He, like I am, is subject to recall to active duty. Congress can and does regulate the employment of retired list officers by the Federal Government. Retired officers (unless waivered) must wait six months after their retirement date before starting a federal civil service position. The seven year restriction is likely constitutional under that Congressional authority.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I thought the Supreme Court decision in the infamous Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) case in favor of President Trump — when he named Mick Mulvaney to lead the agency on an interim basis while Mulvaney was also serving in an other cabinet post — would weigh heavily against Congress in this scenario.
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