The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and 10 retired generals and admirals added their names Friday to the growing list of those who oppose President Trump’s choice for Army secretary.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said he was “deeply offended” by Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green’s past comments opposing gay marriage, transgender bathroom rights and the teaching of Islam in public schools.
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The retired officers, in a letter released by the Palm Center, said they did not believe Green would treat service members with the “dignity and respect they have earned” and that he could hobble efforts to strengthen the military.
Meanwhile, 41 civil rights groups signed a letter Friday to Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the chairman and top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, asking them to reject Green’s nomination.
Trump picked Green, a devout Christian and former Army flight surgeon, in early April and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis vouched for his credentials, saying he would stick by Green through the confirmation process.
Asked Friday whether Mattis’ position has changed, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said, “I have nothing to announce on that.”
Green has come under fire for public comments he has made over his five years as a state legislator. He told audiences that most psychiatrists consider being transgender as a disease, Tennessee should reject the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, teaching the tenets of Islam in schools is unacceptable, and public healthcare is unjust because it keeps churches from converting Americans to Christianity.
Smith, like all House members, has no formal role in confirming Green to be the Army’s top civilian leader, but his opposition carries weight in the military community.
“They are not acceptable positions for a service secretary to hold and he should withdraw his name from contention for this position,” Smith said in a statement released by the Human Rights Campaign, one of the dozens of groups against the nomination.
Other top Democrats including Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee — Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — publicly opposed Green this week.
