Kristen Gillibrand says she worries about lack of civilian control over Defense Department

Sen. Kristen Gillibrand said Wednesday that she’s concerned about the lack of civilian control over the Defense Department.

“The purpose of the military, specifically the secretary of defense, is to have civilian control. So when we chose a general to be a secretary of defense with no civilian experience, we had to waive that in Congress, which I thought was a very ill-advised decision,” said Ms. Gillibrand, who sits on the Armed Services Committee.

“President Trump has said I’m not going to do anything in terms of deciding military strategy, now we really don’t have civilian control. We don’t even have a president who is offering that civilian control,” the New York Democrat said.

Ms. Gillibrand was reacting to news the Trump administration intends to send more troops to Afghanistan amid questions about what the new administration’s strategy is in the region.