Today, I voted in favor of the waiver for Lloyd Austin. I was initially skeptical of putting a second recently-retired four-star general in charge of the Pentagon, which, having served there myself for seven years, works as designed when civilians oversee major defense decisions.
My concerns were never personal: I have deep respect for Secretary-designate Austin. We have worked together, particularly on countering ISIS, for a good part of the last decade.
Without a doubt, Secretary-designate Austin had an incredible military career, and his nomination is a truly historic and important one given where we are as a nation.
But after four years of erosion in civil-military relations, it was important to me to understand exactly how Austin would commit to restoring and preserving the principle of civilian control of the military, which is essential to our Republic.
On December 18, I led a letter, signed by five of my colleagues, where we asked for six commitments from Secretary-designate Austin to preserve a strong civilian voice in the leadership of the Department. bit.ly/2Kz9jrY
I was pleased that he met with me and a small group of lawmakers last week to discuss them further. bit.ly/395B0Cl
Between this meeting, his SASC testimony and, most importantly, the two-hour meeting he had with the HASC today, I feel satisfied that he intends to rebalance civilian control of the military, and is willing to be held accountable for these commitments.
In these remarkable times, and with unprecedented threats facing our country both at home and abroad, I have voted in support of a waiver for Lloyd Austin to allow his confirmation as Secretary of Defense.

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More from @RepSlotkin

18 Nov 20
Today the acting Sec. Def. announced a quick withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan & Iraq. Whatever one's views, making such a quick move without coordination with our NATO, Iraqi and Afghan allies, after so much blood has been shed, hurts us in both the short and long-term.
In the short term, the quick timeline opens up the risk of attack, of disorganization, and provides an opportunity to our enemies.

But in the long-run, it may be even more harmful.
The American handshake has to mean something. It is our word and our bond.

If we ask allies and partners to fight alongside us, we are committing to be there for each other to fight common threats.
Read 5 tweets
9 Nov 20
In my experience, there would only be a few reasons to fire a Secretary of Defense with 72 days left in an Administration.

One would be incompetence or wrongdoing, which do not seem to be the issue with Secretary Esper.
A second would be vindictiveness, which would be an irresponsible way to treat our national security.

A third would be because the President wants to take actions that he believes his Secretary of Defense would refuse to take, which would be alarming.
Whatever the reason, casting aside a Secretary of Defense during the volatile days of transition seems to neglect the President’s most important duty: to protect our national security.
Read 6 tweets
6 Nov 20
President Trump has been telling us for six months that he would contest the election if he didn’t win.

Now that we’re here, it is time for every leader, from the President’s cabinet to local elected officials here in Michigan, to choose: fealty to President Trump, or democracy.
History is presenting a real test for the people who have downplayed the president’s anti-democratic words and deeds.

Leaders can no longer dodge their responsibilities to our democracy. These responsibilities are bigger than one man or any one party.
Cabinet officials need to signal, clearly and publicly, that they will not aid the president’s attempts to undermine our elections.

Senior Republican elected officials need to speak out, now, to make clear they will not participate in attempts to thwart the will of the voters.
Read 4 tweets
8 Oct 20
I am deeply disturbed to hear of the plot, conducted in part in my own district, to kidnap our Governor.

I’m so thankful to federal, state and local law enforcement for taking the threat seriously and getting to the perpetrators before they could act.
If true, they are cowards and criminals and should be treated accordingly.

Make no mistake: This is about as far from their proclaimed patriotism as one can get. This is terrorism.
Both here in the state and on the Homeland Security Committee, our law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been warning us with increasing urgency about the threat of violent domestic extremism.
Read 8 tweets
6 Oct 20
Three weeks ago, 25 Democrats and 25 Republican members of the Problem Solvers Caucus urged leaders to get back in a room and negotiate a COVID relief deal that our communities desperately need.

Since then, negotiations have, by all accounts, moved us closer to a compromise.
I cannot understand why the President would halt negotiations until after the election except in a cynical move to secure votes.
Doing so does not serve the needs of the Michigan families and our small businesses, it places himself above the needs of the country, and it’s out of step with the mission of government –– which is to help in moments of crisis.
Read 4 tweets
24 Sep 20
Today the President again cast doubt on whether he would accept the results of the election if he doesn’t win.

He has been saying this since July.

He has laid the groundwork to refuse the peaceful transition of power.
And if he loses, it will be up to those around him to either support his claims, or step back.

This is why I have been working to get senior military and DHS officials to clearly state on the record what they will do if the President refuses to transition from power.
The President can’t successfully refuse to accept the results of the election without a number of very senior officials aiding him.

It is those officials, along with many others involved in administering elections, that will determine what happens after November 3rd.
Read 4 tweets

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