Democrats are itching to sink at least one Donald Trump Cabinet pick. Unfortunately for them, they seem to really like the one nominee they have the power to block without Republican help — James Mattis.

Returning to the Capitol on Tuesday for the start of the new Congress, a half-dozen Senate Democrats said in interviews that they’re open to voting for the waiver Mattis will need to become defense secretary — and several said they’re leaning in that direction.


Some said they view the retired Marine Corps general as a potential key voice within the Trump administration — someone who could temper the president-elect on issues like torture.

“I like the idea of [Mattis] being at the table with Donald Trump, who clearly doesn't understand that torture isn't about our enemies — it's about protecting our soldiers that are captured, and that it's unreliable information,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I'm going to reserve judgment until the confirmation hearing, but I'm certainly familiar with him, and I certainly approve of how tall in the saddle he has stood against the idea of America ever torturing.”

Trump’s other Cabinet nominees will need simple majorities in the Senate to be confirmed, meaning Democrats will not be able to block them without help from some of the Senate’s 52 Republicans. But Mattis, who retired from the military in 2013, will require 60 votes to get a special waiver exempting him from a law barring top military officials from serving as defense secretary until they’ve been retired at least seven years.

Democrats for now are keeping open the possibility of blocking Mattis, citing the importance of the seven-year rule, put in place to ensure civilian control over the military. But it was clear Tuesday most Democrats are leaning toward granting a waiver, praising Mattis as someone who could be a “voice of reason,” as McCaskill put it, under a president-elect who vowed on the campaign trail to bring back waterboarding and kill the families of terrorists.

“If there were ever a case to make the waiver argument, his is a very powerful one, but I have reached no conclusion as yet,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who met with Mattis on Tuesday. The Connecticut Democrat alluded to the general’s views on torture, too, calling him an “exceptional military leader who understands the importance of moral high ground.”

“Clearly he has an appreciation for the importance of civilian control, which he stated to me unequivocally and emphatically,” Blumenthal said. “Hopefully there will be an opportunity to stop nominees who are less well qualified.”

Mattis has already shown an ability to temper some of Trump’s more controversial views. In November, the real-estate mogul told The New York Times he was rethinking his position on waterboarding after meeting with Mattis.

“I met with him at length and I asked him that question. I said, ‘What do you think of waterboarding?’” Trump said. “He said — I was surprised — he said, ‘I’ve never found it to be useful.’ He said, ‘I’ve always found, give me a pack of cigarettes and a couple of beers and I do better with that than I do with torture.’ And I was very impressed by that answer.”

One condition that Democrats are likely to place on the legislation needed to grant Mattis a waiver is that it only applies an exception for him — which was also done the only other time such a waiver was granted for Gen. George Marshall, who was both defense secretary and secretary of state under President Harry Truman.

“I want to be sure it’s a one-time waiver and not a for-all-time,” said Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats. King said he was “inclined to support” the waiver for Mattis, but still wanted to see the final language before committing.

“There were good reasons for putting that rule into effect 50 to 60 years ago, so I don’t want to do it lightly,” King said. “On the other hand, I think Gen. Mattis is a highly qualified candidate.”

In a nod to Democratic concerns, Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday on civilian control of the military, two days before Mattis’ planned confirmation hearing.

The first hearing, according to a source familiar with the committee’s planning, will include outside witnesses who can discuss why the law exists and other factors behind it.

The committee is also preparing to mark up and approve the legislation granting Mattis a waiver before it votes on his nomination.

On Tuesday, McCain told reporters he was confident Democrats would not stand in the way.

“We’ve got it on track,” the senator told reporters. “We have a schedule for it.”

Mattis has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill, meeting on Tuesday with Blumenthal and Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services panel. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), another panel member, said she’s meeting with Mattis later this week.

Reed said Tuesday the waiver hearing would be an important step for him to sign off on allowing Mattis to serve as defense secretary.

“I admire him immensely, but I think we have to give it a full review,” Reed said. “I want to listen, and I think my colleagues do, too, to experts in the field ... about the challenges this poses.”

So far, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), also an Armed Services Committee member, is the only Democrat who has come out against Mattis, saying in a statement that “civilian control of our military is a fundamental principle of American democracy, and I will not vote for an exception to this rule.” Gillibrand is set to meet with Mattis on Wednesday.

Some Democrats who aren’t on the Armed Services panel may also be less inclined to support changing the law for the retired Marine general.

“Mattis may be qualified but there were a whole bunch of other people that were also qualified that complied with the law,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

“I think there are strong feelings in our caucus about it,” Murphy added. “It doesn’t seem like the president-elect did an exhaustive search to find someone who didn’t need the law changed.”

Still, Murphy said he would give Mattis a chance.

“To me the waiver is tied up with his personal qualifications,” he said. “I’m not going to look at the waiver just as a matter of policy. I am going to look at the waiver in the context of his qualifications.”