House Republican group opposes Austin waiver

The Republican Study Committee, a House group that advocates conservative policies, opposes granting a congressional waiver to retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as defense secretary.

The waiver is required by law as Austin has been retired from the military for fewer than seven years.

The RSC, which counts most Republicans as members, explained its objection in a memo sent to members and their staffs.

"General Austin is not the right person for the job of Secretary of Defense," the memo states. "He lacks civilian experience, has no experience in countering China, and has a track record of failures as the [U.S. Central Command] head in Syria and Iraq and in the war on ISIS. For all of these reasons, conservatives should not vote to grant a 'waiver' for General Austin."

The memo notes that retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Mattis received a waiver from Congress in 2017 so he could serve as President Trump's first defense secretary.

"However, in granting yet another 'waiver'; only 4 years after the Mattis experience, a new precedent will effectively be put in place which will make it very likely that Congress may regularly waive the prohibition, undermining the spirit of the law altogether," the memo states.

Mattis' waiver won by a landslide, with the House voting 268-151, and the Senate 81-17.

But the RSC says many conservatives have "expressed their regret" for backing the waiver and they note that 150 House Democrats opposed it.

"The Mattis experience illustrated a number of problems that even retired military officers have serving in such a position," the memo states. "Mattis avoided the cabinet-level politics necessary in a cabinet position including refusing to debate fiscal hawks in the Trump cabinet regarding the funding of his own Department. Mattis held less press briefings than prior secretaries, and often kept both the White House and Congress in the dark on the rationales behind his decisions."

Mattis, meanwhile, has defended his tenure as secretary and recently denounced Trump as a threat to the Constitution.

Some Democrats, like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Tammy Duckworth (IL) have also said they oppose granting Austin a waiver to serve.

Many Democrats and Republicans have already voiced support for Austin's waiver, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK).

Austin is slated to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 19 and before the House Armed Services Committee on Jan. 21.