McCain warns against 'marginalization' of civilians at DOD

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) said today the Defense Department must guard against the "marginalization" of civilian officials, "especially now, when so many civilian leaders at the Department of Defense are either missing or are themselves recently retired military officers."

McCain, who spoke today at a hearing to reconfirm Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford, said DOD suffered from "micromanagement" during the Obama administration and must take care to avoid an "overcorrection."

"We cannot afford to swing from civilian micromanagement to civilian marginalization," McCain said in his opening statement. "We need to restore balance in civil-military relations -- where the best military advice is always rendered and received, but is done so as part of a dialogue with civilians who participate actively and have the last word on policy, strategy, operations and plans."

Early this year, Congress passed legislation to allow Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a former Marine Corps general, to serve as defense secretary, despite spending fewer than seven years out of uniform.

McCain also complained that DOD, under the Trump administration, is not being forthright with Congress and the Senate Armed Services Committee, particularly regarding the new strategy for Afghanistan.

"At present, this committee, and the Congress more broadly, is not receiving the information and the respect it deserves as a co-equal branch of government," he said. "We do not work for the president or the executive branch. We have distinct and equal responsibilities under the Constitution, and the administration needs to understand its obligations to the Congress in this regard.

"Too often, members of this committee are learning in the media for the first time about major national security and military activities that we, as the committee of oversight, should be told about, and consulted on, in advance," McCain added. "Even now, nearly 10 months into the year, we are told that we have a new strategy for Afghanistan, but members of this committee have far more questions than answers. The administration must do better, and until it does, the Congress and this committee will be forced to use what levers we have to show the administration that we are not, and will not be, a rubber stamp."