Democrats wave the white flag on Mattis

[mystery-ak]

Democrats wave the white flag on Mattis

By Elana Schor

12/07/16 12:24 PM EST


Senate Democrats are signaling that they will not block a must-pass spending bill despite reservations about the GOP using the measure to speed up the process for confirming Donald Trump's defense secretary.

Democrats warned against using the short-term spending bill to sidestep a debate over giving retired Gen. James Mattis the legislative waiver he will need to lead the Pentagon under Trump, given his recent service in uniform. But Republicans late Tuesday added language to the spending bill that preserves a 60-vote margin to approve Mattis' waiver — making their play to limit debate on his nomination less of a make-or-break issue for Democrats.

more
http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/james-mattis-confirmation-democrats-spending-bill-232316

[Maj. Bill Martin]

That's kind of an odd story.  If they expressly retain the 60 vote requirement for the waiver, then what's the point of having it in the spending bill at all?

[Rivergirl]

Because everyone wants the Pentagon to take over the executive branch of government. What could go wrong?

[Frank Cannon]

Could the GOP finally be showing some spine here?