Experts support waiver for Mattis to rein in Trump

Threats from the president-elect himself led one expert to tell senators on Tuesday that an exception should be granted to allow retired Gen. James Mattis to serve as the defense secretary.

Eliot Cohen, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced and International Studies, defended civilian control of the armed forces at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. But he said he supports a one-time waiver for Mattis to serve as President-elect Trump’s top Pentagon civilian, less than seven years after leaving the armed services.