BREAKING: Senate Near-Unanimously Votes to Confirm Gen. James Mattis for DefSec

The United States Senate has voted to confirm General James Mattis as the next United States Defense Secretary.

One of the first things President Trump did after being sworn in today was signing into law the waiver passed by Congress allowing him to serve in the position. The waiver was necessary because Mattis only retired from the Marine Corps in 2013.

Nevertheless, Mattis ended up receiving close to unanimous votes from the Senate this afternoon (as of this posting, 98 senators voted in his favor). Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who said she would oppose a waiver for Mattis and questioned him about women in combat during his hearing, is the sole holdout.

Mattis will be America’s 26th Defense Secretary. Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, and Ash Carter all served in the position under President Obama.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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