The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday that it was premature for Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to say he would open all combat jobs to women before Congress had the opportunity to hold hearings and evaluate a recent Marine Corps study.
Mabus drew criticism from lawmakers and Marines for saying that he would not ask for any Navy or Marine billets to remain male only, despite a Marine Corps study that found women performed worse than men in several different aspects of combat during a nine-month evaluation.
“Why would you have a study if you’re going to disregard the results of it?” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told the Washington Examiner.
While the official recommendation on whether to keep combat jobs closed to women will come from service secretaries, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said the defense secretary will also hear input from the Joint Chiefs, giving the Marine Corps commandant a chance to express his opinion on keeping jobs such as infantry open to only men.
Recommendations are due to Defense Secretary Ash Carter by Oct. 1; he will make a decision on whether any jobs will remain closed to women by Jan. 1.
McCain said he hoped Congress would also evaluate findings from the services, including the Marine Corps study.
“I think we need to evaluate it. I think we need to have a congressional hearing at least and the initial evidence of that Marine Corps study is something we have to consider,” he said. “We don’t want to prevent any woman from any opportunity, but we also want to look at all aspects of it.”
Mabus’ opinion of the Marine Corps’ findings drew sharp criticism from Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., who called the secretary “a political hack who cares more about doing the White House’s bidding than the combat effectiveness of the Marine Corps.”
Elaine Donnelly, president of the conservative Center for Military Readiness, agreed with Hunter, writing an op-ed in the Washington Times that said for Mabus, “facts stop being facts when they aren’t politically correct.”
