WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement following votes in the Senate on the cabinet nominations of General James Mattis and General John Kelly:
“I voted to support the nominations of General James Mattis to serve as Secretary of Defense and General John Kelly to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security. Both have spent decades serving and defending the United States. They have led American service members in combat and know firsthand the profound sacrifices our men and women in uniform make to defend our security and our values.
“While I do not agree with all of their past policy decisions and statements, I expect they will bring their experience and perspective to the Trump administration on a wide range of issues, from pushing back on Russian aggression, to enforcing the terms of the Iran nuclear deal, to strengthening our ties with Latin America, to standing by NATO and American alliances around the world. More importantly, General Mattis and General Kelly have demonstrated a deep commitment to learning from and applying the lessons of history. I’m proud to support their confirmations.”