U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin
Press Release

Baldwin, Senators Question Secretary of Defense on Reorganization of National Security Council

“We are concerned that the unprecedented elevation of a political operative to the senior leadership of the NSC may compromise the national security decision making process and put American lives at risk at home and abroad.”

By - Feb 21st, 2017 11:55 am

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin joined Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, in sending a letter to Secretary of Defense James Mattis requesting information on the recent reorganization of the National Security Council (NSC) to include President Trump’s chief political strategist Steve Bannon as a regular attendee of NSC Principals Committee.

“We are concerned that the unprecedented elevation of a political operative to the senior leadership of the NSC may compromise the national security decision making process and put American lives at risk at home and abroad. We are also concerned that President Trump reportedly may not have been briefed on this memorandum or fully understood the changes it made to the NSC,” the senators wrote.

Baldwin and Heinrich were also joined by U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeffery Merkley (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Edward Markey (D-MA) in asking whether the Department of Defense was consulted prior to these changes and what the Defense Secretary’s views are on whether partisan political considerations should be a part of the national security decision-making process.

A copy of the letter is available here, which includes a number of questions the senators are asking Secretary Mattis to answer on the recent reorganization of the NSC.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Recent Press Releases by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin Brings Home Over $39 Million in Infrastructure Upgrades to Reconnect Wisconsin Communities

Baldwin voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act that fund the projects and fought for Wisconsin investments

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us