Russia, Iran likely focus of hearing on Trump defence secretary

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Pentagon is expected to face tough questions about civilian control of the military as well as future US policy toward Russia and Iran during his Senate confirmation hearing today.

General James “Mad Dog” Mattis, who retired as a four-star Marine Corps general in 2013, is technically ineligible for the job since he has not been a civilian for at least seven years.

That means Congress would need to grant him a waiver, something it has not done since 1950 for General George Marshall during the Truman administration, but appears inclined to do now.

In his opening statement, Mattis will make the case that he can lead the military as a civilian, even after a 44-year military career.

“I recognize my potential civilian role differs in essence and in substance from my former role in uniform,” Mattis will testify, according to prepared remarks.

Mattis, 66, is believed to advocate a stronger line against Moscow than the one Trump outlined during his election campaign and has argued persuasively in private talks with Trump against the use of waterboarding, which simulates drowning, as an interrogation tactic.

Those attributes, as well as his past remarks extolling the NATO alliance, which Trump also criticised in the campaign, are expected to help sway many Democrats and Republicans sceptical of some of Trump’s campaign positions.

Mattis made clear his support for strong international alliances in remarks to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“History is clear: nations with strong allies thrive and those without them wither,” Mattis will testify at the hearing, due to begin at 1430 GMT.

Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said he expected Mattis would not have a difficult time securing the nomination, partly because he enjoys bipartisan support.

“The other thing he has going for him is that he may be a restraint on some of Trump’s more extreme impulses,” Cancian said. “The concern that people would have is OK, you vote down Mattis, who do you get?”

Senators are expected to ask Mattis how he would grapple with Iran’s influence in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and beyond. Officials who knew him before he retired in 2013 said Mattis clashed with top Obama administration officials when he headed Central Command (CENTCOM) over his desire to better prepare for potential threats from Tehran.

His support for stiffer responses to Russia could endear him to Republicans. Senior Republicans on the committee are pushing for a harsher response to what US spy agencies say was the Kremlin’s meddling in the US presidential election that saw Trump’s rise to power.

Trump, who takes office on 20 January, has expressed a desire to improve ties with Moscow.