WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has indicated she plans to oppose a waiver required for retired Marine Corps General James Mattis to serve as President-elect Donald Trump's Defense Secretary.
As Mattis retired from the military in 2013, his nomination would require a waiver of the National Security Act of 1947.
Under U.S. law, a retired officer must be out of uniform for at least seven years before he can assume the role of Defense Secretary.
In a statement released Thursday shortly after Trump announced his intention to nominate Mattis, Gillibrand said she deeply respects Mattis' service but would vote against the waiver.
'I will oppose a waiver,' said Gillibrand. 'Civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy, and I will not vote for an exception to this rule.'
Gillibrand currently serves as the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel.
An aide to Gillibrand told Politico the New York Senator would require a vote at a 60-vote threshold to allow Mattis to become Defense Secretary.
However, House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., told CNN he does not expect Mattis to be barred from the job because his reputation is so strong.
'Frankly, because there's enough concern among Democrats about some of the President-elect's other choices, they'll be a desire to amend the statute if that's what' necessary,' Schiff said.
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