James N. Mattis

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At Elizabeth Holmes' Trial, a Familiar but Unexpected Face

Ex-SecDef James Mattis testified that former Theranos CEO misled him on blood-testing tech

(Newser) - Former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis testified Wednesday in the trial of fallen tech star Elizabeth Holmes, saying the entrepreneur misled him into believing she was on the verge of rolling out a blood-testing breakthrough that he hoped would help save lives of troops in battle. Mattis' appearance came...

From All 10 Ex-Defense Secretaries, an 'Exceptional' Op-Ed

They note Biden has won, warn the military has no place getting involved in any election disputes

(Newser) - "The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived." So reads an unusual op-ed that appeared Sunday in the Washington Post , co-signed by all 10 living ex-defense secretaries. The...

Trump Responds to Mattis' Scathing Rebuke

President calls his ex-defense secretary 'overrated'

(Newser) - James Mattis pulled no punches Wednesday in a statement blasting President Trump for his response to the George Floyd protests, calling Trump "the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people." Trump fired back at his ex-defense secretary later that evening, per...

After Reported Insult From Trump, Mattis Pushes Back

'I'm the Meryl Streep of generals,' he joked at Alfred E. Smith dinner

(Newser) - In an interview published in August, James Mattis promised that his silence on all things Trump wouldn't be "eternal." CNN reports that on Thursday evening, the former defense secretary lifted the veil just a bit, making joke s about the president at the annual Alfred E. Smith...

Mattis: There's a Marine Saying That America Should Follow

'When you're going to a gunfight, bring all your friends with guns'

(Newser) - In an excerpt from his upcoming book that appears in the Wall Street Journal , former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis shares the two times then-president-elect Donald Trump surprised him: First in requesting he come to New Jersey to discuss the position at all (he had never met Trump and knew Congress...

Next Defense Secretary Could Be a Democrat

Jim Webb rumored to be front-runner

(Newser) - President Trump is rumored to be considering a surprising choice for defense secretary: Jim Webb, a former Democratic senator from Virginia who briefly ran for president in 2015 and was considered a front-runner to be Barack Obama's running mate in 2008. Sources tell the New York Times that White...

In Mattis' Farewell Message to Staff, an 1865 Quotation

He urges defense employees to stay focused on their mission

(Newser) - Outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is quoting President Abraham Lincoln in a farewell message to defense employees, urging them to stay focused on their mission. Mattis quoted from a letter Lincoln wrote in 1865 to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. It said: "Let nothing which is transpiring, change, hinder, or...

Trump Tweets That He Gave Mattis a 'Second Chance'

President gives his reaction to the resignation

(Newser) - Outgoing Defense Secretary Jim Mattis got a "second chance" from President Trump, or so the president wrote on Twitter Saturday night. Trump didn't mean he himself doled out two chances but rather that he gave that second one after "President Obama ingloriously fired" Mattis. That happened in...

Why Mattis' Resignation 'Puts Trump's Presidency in Peril'

Pundits weigh in

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will step down from his post by the end of February, and his resignation letter made clear that his lack of alignment with President Trump drove the decision. Here's how the news is being received by pundits:
  • Fred Kaplan, Slate : Kaplan takes issue with Trump'
...

Report: Trump Plans to Pull Troops From Afghanistan

Sources say this played a big role in Mattis resignation

(Newser) - President Trump's Syria decision wasn't the only reason behind the abrupt resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, insiders say. The New York Times reports that defense officials say Trump has ordered the military to begin pulling 7,000 troops from Afghanistan, about half the current US forces there....

Mattis Stepping Down as Defense Secretary

Resignation letter implies criticism of Trump's Syria decision

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is stepping down from his post, President Trump announced Thursday, after the retired Marine general clashed with the president over a troop drawdown in Syria and Trump's go-it-alone stance in world affairs. Mattis, perhaps the most respected foreign policy official in Trump's administration, will...

US Warns War Games With South Korea Could Resume

Mattis says there are 'no plans at this time to suspend any more exercises'

(Newser) - The war games may be back on. Just two months after President Trump announced he had "indefinitely suspended" the "very provocative" military drills by the US and South Korea in a move meant to soothe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday there...

Post-Vietnam War First Likely to Irritate China

US Navy aircraft carrier is expected to visit Vietnam

(Newser) - A US Navy aircraft carrier is expected to make a port visit to Vietnam in March, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Thursday. It would be the first such visit in the postwar era, and the planned visit to Danang is likely to irritate China, which is critical of US moves...

Mattis: Risk of North Korean Nuclear Attack Accelerating

Pentagon chief accuses North Korea of 'outlaw' behavior

(Newser) - The threat of nuclear missile attack by North Korea is accelerating, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Saturday, accusing the North of illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programs and pledging to repel any strike, the AP reports. In remarks in Seoul with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo at...

2 Lawmakers Try to Curb Trump's Ability to Start a War

Democrats worried about his rhetoric against North Korea

(Newser) - President Trump and Kim Jong Un have not traded public threats of late, but it's still been a busy week in terms of North Korean developments. Defense chief James Mattis visited the DMZ, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sees a potential ally in India, and two Democratic lawmakers aim...

Did Tillerson's Statement Just Make Things Worse?
Did Tillerson's Statement
Just Make Things Worse?
the rundown
Oct 5, 2017 11:30 AM CDT

Did Tillerson's Statement Just Make Things Worse?

Gist of coverage is that his ties with Trump remain irreparably damaged

(Newser) - Rex Tillerson made the unusual move Wednesday of calling a news conference to refute reports that he's on the outs with President Trump and came close to resigning his post as secretary of state. So it's safe to say Tillerson is in DC for a while? Don't...

Mattis' Off-the-Cuff Talk to Troops Caught on Video

He asks them to 'hold the line' until US gets back to 'respecting each other'

(Newser) - A video of defense chief James Mattis giving an off-the-cuff pep talk to US troops is gaining traction online. In the clip—see it here —Mattis asks the troops to "hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it,"...

North Korea Fires 'Highly Problematic' Missile

That would be 3rd in 3 weeks, and it landed in Japanese waters

(Newser) - North Korea carried out its third missile test in as many weeks Monday, firing what is believed to have been a short-range Scud-type missile into waters Japan considers to be part of its exclusive economic maritime zone. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga says Tokyo has protested the "intolerable" action...

Mattis Breaks From Trump on Key Iraq Issue

Defense secretary assures Iraq we want to help beat ISIS, not take its oil

(Newser) - President Trump has noted more than once he thinks we should've taken Iraq's oil when we had the chance (and suggests that option may still be on the table), but his secretary of defense is pushing a different message—what the New York Times characterizes as comments that...

Trump Pick Gets Rare Senate Exception to Lead Pentagon

James Mattis expected to be easily confirmed

(Newser) - Retired Gen. James Mattis on Thursday cruised toward likely confirmation as Donald Trump's defense secretary, overwhelmingly prevailing in a Senate vote granting him an exemption to run the Pentagon as a recently retired officer, the AP reports. At his confirmation hearing, he called Russia the nation's No. 1...

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