Two key members of President Donald Trump’s national security apparatus sailed through Senate confirmation votes Friday afternoon, as retired Marine Gens. James Mattis and John Kelly earned overwhelming support in the upper chamber to become the first cabinet picks of the new administration to win approval to their posts.
Mattis, the new secretary of defense, navigated an unusual path, needing a bicameral congressional waiver to be eligible for the Pentagon job. But he secured it with only some resistance from House Democrats who were spurned after the Trump transition team cancelled Mattis’s courtesy appearance before that chamber’s armed services committee. He won confirmation with a 98-1 vote. New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who opposed the waiver for Mattis, was the dissenter.
Sen. John McCain, chairman of the committee that green-lit Mattis’s nomination, said America was “fortunate” to have the retired general in service once again.
Kelly, who will lead the Department of Homeland Security, traveled an easier road, but had a narrower margin in the Senate. The former commander of the United States Southern Command was well-received by both parties during his confirmation hearing before the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. He received 88 yes votes.
