Mattis breaks with Trump on Iran, Russia Secretary of Defense pick says U.S. must stick with nuke deal, confront Putin.

Breaking with President-elect Donald Trump, James Mattis said Thursday in his confirmation hearing to be defense secretary that he supports a permanent U.S. military presence in the Baltics to deter Russia — and reiterated that he believes the U.S. must stick to the Iran nuclear deal even if it is flawed.

The retired Marine Corps general initially tried to dodge the question on Eastern Europe, saying he’d wait until Trump’s national security team was in place.But when panel Chairman John McCain pressed him on using American forces as a trip wire along Russia's borders, Mattis said he agreed: “I do, sir."


Mattis separately described Moscow as "raising grave concerns on several fronts."

His remarks, including a strong endorsement of the NATO military alliance, are a departure from Trump, who has been accused of cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has repeatedly denigrated NATO and other U.S. alliances on the campaign trail under the banner of “America First.”

Trump has also promised to rip up the 2015 agreement to lift sanctions on Iran in return for the Islamic Republic freezing its nuclear weapons program, a deal that was reached with several nations, including Russia.

Mattis, who retired from the military as a four-star general in 2013, repeatedly touted the importance of international partnerships during his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“History is clear: nations with strong allies thrive and those without them wither,” Mattis said.

Mattis also said he was a strong supporter of NATO in a lengthy questionnaire he provided to the panel. “NATO is central to our defense,” Mattis said. “I believe the alliance must harness renewed political will to confront and walk back aggressive Russian actions and other threats to the security of its members.”

His overall views are almost certain to play well among members of the Senate Armed Services panel, which is made up of some of the biggest defense hawks in both parties — including a number of senators who are very concerned about Trump’s disparagement of global alliances and his embrace of Putin.

Mattis’ remarks on Iran, however, will likely frustrate some of the biggest critics of the nuclear pact.

“I think it is an imperfect arms control agreement — it's not a friendship treaty,” Mattis said. “But when America gives her word, we have to live up to it and work with our allies.”

Here are some other highlights of Mattis’ confirmation hearing testimony:

Civilian control of the military sacrosanct

The retired general, a popular pick whose confirmation is all but assured, will still require a waiver from both the Senate and House to get an exception to the legal prohibition on retired military officials serving as defense secretary unless they have been out of uniform for at least seven years.

Mattis, just three years out of uniform, said he recognizes his post would be a civilian role, differing “in essence and in substance from my former role in uniform.”

“Civilian control of the military is a fundamental tenet of the American military tradition,” Mattis said in his written testimony. “If the Senate consents and if the full Congress passes an exception to the seven-year requirement, I will provide strong civilian leadership of military plans and decisions.”

‘No plan to oppose women in any aspect of our military’

Mattis has won bipartisan praise among the senators who will decide his fate, with key Democrats viewing him as a tested battlefield commander who could temper Trump on human-rights issues like torture.

But a number of Democrats said ahead of the hearing they were worried about Mattis’ views on military social issues, particularly women in combat, which he has opposed in the past.

In the hearing, Mattis indicated he did not plan to undo the Obama administration’s 2015 decision to open all combat jobs to women — though he did not completely close off the possibility.

“I have no plan to oppose women in any aspect of our military,” Mattis said Thursday. “I’m coming in with the understanding that I lead the Department of Defense, and if someone brings me a problem I will look at it. But I’m not coming in looking for problems.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who asked the most pointed questions of Mattis, also pressed him on allowing gay and lesbian troops to serve openly.

“Do you believe that allowing LGBT Americans to serve in the military or women in combat is undermining our lethality?” she asked.

“Frankly, I’ve never cared much about two consenting adults and who they go to bed with,” Mattis responded, though he did not state directly that he would not consider policy changes on these issues.

‘Instilling budget discipline’

Mattis laid out a series of top goals should he be confirmed, ranging from beefing up the preparedness of individual fighting units and improving the Pentagon’s business practices.

He told the panel his priorities as Pentagon chief would be to “strengthen military readiness, strengthen our alliances in league with our diplomatic partners, and bring business reforms to the Department of Defense by instilling budget discipline and holding our leaders accountable.”

Says Trump ‘serious…about keeping these costs under control."

Mattis would not speak directly to Trump’s controversial social media attacks on the F-35 fighter and Air Force One programs over their cost.

"It’s not my role to comment on the president elect’s statements other than to say I believe it shows he is serious about getting the best bang for the dollar when it comes to defense dollars and that is where I find common ground with him," he told Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), who complained “these tweets have impacted markets, creating instability and uncertainty in the industry. I don’t think that is the best way to get this point across."

But Mattis said the broadsides show Trump is serious about controlling costs.

“I want to be able to come to you and say, ‘Here’s the money you gave us and here’s what we did with it.’ And I see his statements about the cost of certain defense programs as showing his serious side about keeping these costs under control,” Mattis said.

Putin ‘trying to break the North Atlantic alliance’

Mattis also broke with Trump in his assessment of Russia, warning that the Kremlin is trying to break up NATO.

McCain asked Mattis whether he thought Trump would have more success than past presidents when it came to improving relations with Russia.

“Chairman, history is not a straitjacket, but I’ve never found a better guide for the way ahead than studying history,” Mattis responded.

“I think right now, the most important thing is that we recognize the reality of what we deal with with Mr. Putin,” he continued. “And we recognize that he’s trying to break the North Atlantic alliance, and we take the steps, the integrated steps, the diplomatic, economic, military and the Alliance steps in working with our allies to defend ourselves where we must.”

McCain talks to Trump, not Mattis, on Russia

McCain was effectively talking to Trump — and not Mattis — when he went on a lengthy statement against Russia and Putin.

“Each of our last three presidents has had great expectations of building a partnership with the Russian government,” McCain said in his opening statement. “Each attempt has failed, not for lack of good faith and effort on the U.S. side, but because of a stubborn fact that we must finally recognize: Putin wants to be our enemy. He needs us as his enemy. “

The Arizona Republican has criticized Trump for saying he wants warmer relations with Russia and Putin, concluding Thursday that Putin “will never be our partner.”

“We must build a position of significant strength vis-à-vis Russia and any other adversary that seeks to undermine our national interests and challenge the world order,” McCain said. “We must re-establish deterrence. And that is primarily the job of the Department of Defense.”

Mattis backs keeping Iran deal

While Mattis is known as an Iran hawk, he said Thursday he believed the United States should stick with the Iranian nuclear deal.

“I think it is an imperfect arms control agreement — it’s not a friendship treaty,” Mattis said in response to questions from Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.). “But when America gives her word, we have to live up to it and work with our allies.”

The Iran deal could become another source of tension between Mattis and Trump, who repeatedly blasted the deal on the campaign trail and pledged to rip it up.

Jim Mattis, still a general

Changing roles after a four-decade career isn’t easy.

When Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) was pressing the retired Marine general on how to stop using the war budget to skirt spending limits, Mattis said he shared her goal of fixing the issue, though he wasn’t sure how to solve it under the Budget Control Act.

Then, Mattis concluded his comments with a statement he likely gave dozens of times testifying before Congress while in uniform: “I share 100 percent of your frustration and goal, but I can’t tell you I know how to get there other than giving you my best military advice,” he said.

The issue? Mattis won’t be offering his best military advice as a civilian defense secretary.

Mad Dog, or Braveheart?

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen, who, along with former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), introduced Mattis, was first to address the nickname that Mattis reportedly doesn’t like but has been unable to shake.

“He has the nickname of ‘Mad Dog’ — it’s a misnomer,” Cohen said. “It should be ‘Braveheart.’ Because what really characterizes Jim Mattis is his courage.”

William Wallace might just have to step aside for the Mad Dog.