Mark Green withdraws as Trump's Army secretary nominee, citing 'false and misleading attacks'

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post

By Dan Lamothe May 5 at 4:18 PM

The Trump administrations Army secretary nominee withdrew from consideration Friday, a senior defense official said, amid mounting opposition to past comments he made about Islam, evolution and gender issues.

Mark E. Green, a Republican state lawmaker in Tennessee and veteran of the Iraq War, blamed false and misleading attacks against him, in a statement provided to NBC News. The Pentagon and the White House had no immediate reaction to the move, but it came hours after a Defense Department spokesman declined to say whether Defense Secretary Jim Mattis still supported him for the job.

The decision was announced after a month of growing calls for the Trump administration to choose someone else for the job. Advocacy groups for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people immediately launched an effort on Capitol Hill to block his nomination after it was announced April 7, saying his history of antagonism toward them made him an unacceptable choice.

Several U.S. senators signaled opposition to Green becoming Army secretary this week, including Sens. Joe Donnelly (D.-Ind.), Elizabeth Warren (D.-Mass.), Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D.-Wash.) and Tammy Baldwin (D.-Wis.). Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said in an interview with USA Today that some of Greens comments are very concerning and that would have to explain himself to the committee.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/05/05/mark-green-withdraws-as-trumps-army-secretary-nominee-citing-false-and-misleading-attacks/?pushid=590cdf15fdd5491d00000015&tid=notifi_push_breaking-news&utm_term=.5958a540eb74

---

Link to tweet

[dalton99a]

1. Good riddance to trash

[iluvtennis]

11. +++ agree

[Freethinker65]

2. Good

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Our Dem Senators postured fairly and middle-of-the-road

chalk one up for reason, they were willing to listen

[pangaia]

4. "... false and misleading attacks against him,..."

Yeah, I'll bet they were.

[hatrack]

9. IOW, "Truthful and Accurate" attacks

Whiny melty little snowflake!

[dhill926]

5. good....he's fucking nuts...

[7962]

6. If its all "false & misleading" then theres no need to withdraw.

unless its NOT

[Angry Dragon]

7. so true

[NewJeffCT]

10. well, maybe his feelings were hurt by the attacks?

It seems like being a sensitive snowflake is a requirement to be a part of Team Trump.

[7962]

21. Well, its politics! Poor fellow should grow thicker skin I guess!

if there is no "there" there.....

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. Go, militant gay agenda, go. Another link:

BREAKING: Mark Green Withdraws As Army Secretary Nominee Following Wacko Jesus/Health Revelations

Wait - he's withdrawing because he's too loony? Shouldn't that be cause for immediate confirmation?

Army Secretary Nominee Mark Green: Public Healthcare Prevents People From Finding Salvation In Jesus

May 5, 2017 Christianists, Crackpots

The Washington Examiner reports:

President Trump’s pick for Army secretary once said government-assisted healthcare is an “injustice” because it hampers church-affiliated providers from converting people to Christianity.

Mark Green, a state senator in Tennessee, told a church group in 2015 that sickness is one of the main avenues that bring people to religion, but that citizens in the United States now instead rely on the government to help them, limiting the Christian church’s role.

The comments shed more light on the conservative religious views that have brought Green, a physician and former Army flight surgeon, under fire from Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill and a growing segment of progressive advocacy groups in advance of his Senate confirmation hearings.

“The person who’s in need … they look to the government for the answer, not God, and I think in that way government has done an injustice that’s even bigger than just the creation of an entitlement welfare state,” Green said. “In this setting, I’ll share the story, I think it interrupts the opportunity for people to come to a saving knowledge of who God is.”

Last week Green denounced the “liberal left” for quoting his anti-LGBT views verbatim.

[mr_lebowski]

23. No offense to believers intended ... but the US Government was never, nor should be ever ...

In the 'business' of ushering citizens of this country into the 'loving arms' of some magical-sky-daddy-thing.

Especially not just because they're 'sick' in some way.

WTH is WRONG with these people.

Srsly.

People are still perfectly free to find their salvation in Sky Daddy's, but not EVERYONE should HAVE TO. That was the entire damn POINT of the Establishment Clause. You know, that whole '1st Amendment' thing?

Give it a friggin' REST, all you panderers.

[HAB911]

24. +100

[Astraea]

12. melt away, Snowflake,

melt away

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. Resist, Persist, Triumph. . . . nt

[rurallib]

14. didn't they use his own words for the said 'false and misleading attacks'?

same tactic that is being used against Benedict Donald

[NoMoreRepugs]

15. T Rump - so much winning u must b exhausted.....

[mountain grammy]

16. Resist, resist, resist!

[bluestarone]

17. FALSE MISLEADING FACTS?????

Hell he'd fit right in to the tRump Squad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Augiedog]

18. But, but, but...Benghazi

[Turbineguy]

19. It's Jesus' fault.

He forgot to bring his magic wand.

[jmowreader]

20. There's got to be something besides the Jesus remarks

Trump's administration is full of people as loudly Christian as this guy, and none of them resigned. It makes ya wonder exactly what skeletons are in his closet, and how many of them can be tied to Trump.

[nitpicker]

22. Link to BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39826909