Some DC Democrats criticize Green; some TN Democrats join in praising him
In Washington, 31 Democratic U.S. House members have called for the rejection of Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green as U.S. Army Secretary. But in Nashville, all five Democratic members of the state Senate joined their Republican colleagues in voting for a resolution praising the Clarksville Republican.
TN soldier killed in helicopter crash
News release from Department of Veterans Affairs
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder recognize the service and sacrifice of Specialist Jeremy Tomlin of Chapel Hill, Tenn. The Marshall County U.S. Army soldier was working as a crew chief and training in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter when it crashed on Monday, April 17, 2017 in Leornardtown, Md. Tomlin was pronounced dead at the scene and two other crew members were critically injured. Tomlin,22, was assigned to “C” Company, 12th Aviation Battalion out of Fort Belvoir, Va.
”Jeremy was a son, brother and husband who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country,” Haslam said. “We pause to remember this young Tennessee soldier killed in the line of duty and as a state we offer our thoughts and prayers to his loved ones.”
Sen. Green: I only labeled ‘murderous terrorists” evil (but urged doctor ‘cherry picking’ of patients?)
In apparently his first response to criticism from LGBT and Muslim groups on his nomination by President Trump as U.S. Army secretary, state Sen. Mark Green declares on Facebook that “the liberal left has cut and spliced my words about terrorism and ISIS blatantly falsifying what I’ve said. “
“The only people I have ever called evil are murderous terrorists trying to kill Americans,” he writes. “The only people I have ever suggested be crushed are the terrorist enemies of our nation.”
Muslim group opposes Green as Army secretary
News release from Council on American-Islamic Relations
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/12/17) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslims civil rights and advocacy organization, today announced its opposition to the confirmation of Mark E. Green as President Trump’s new Army secretary because of his past Islamophobic statements.
Green’s Army secretary nomination draws national LGBT activist criticism
State Sen. Mark Green’s selection by President Trump as U.S Secretary of the Army, formally announced Friday, is drawing criticism from LGBT activists in national media reporting. If confirmed, the Clarksville Republican will succeed Eric Fanning, a 2016 Obama appointee who became the first openly gay person to be named as head of any branch of the U.S. military services.
A sampler from reports over the weekend:
Trump announces Sen. Mark Green as Army Secretary
President Donald Trump formally announced his intention to nominate state Sen. Mark Green as U.S. Secretary of the Army on Friday in a White House news release that also covered nominations to five other federal government positions.
Green is expected to resign from the Senate when the nomination is confirmed and the new job will also end his planned run for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, announced in January. The pending presidential nomination had been widely but unofficially reported earlier.
Here’s the portion of the White House release dealing with Green: Continue reading
Sen. Mark Green dropping run for governor to become Army secretary?
Former Army flight surgeon and Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) is the leading pick to take over as President Donald Trump’s Army Secretary, reports Military Times, quotinq “sources close to the process.”
Green, best known as the special operations soldier who interviewed former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after his capture by American forces in 2003, would be the second person nominated by Trump for the post. Last month, billionaire veteran Vincent Viola dropped out of the confirmation process citing numerous conflicts of interest with his family businesses.
…If confirmed, the 1986 West Point graduate will make the jump from local politics to the highest levels of military planning, overseeing Trump’s promised build-up of Army end-strength and equipment modernization.
Green was elected to state office in 2012 and for the last seven years has served as founder and CEO of Align MD, an emergency department staffing company. The firm operates in 30 hospitals in six states.
The move would abruptly halt the former Army officer’s bid for governor of Tennessee just two months after it launched.
… Green is nearing the nomination and going through background checks, another source close to the search said. Green has been a candidate for weeks, the source said.
…All of Green’s bills that had been set for discussion in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday were instead sent back to a subcommittee. That’s generally a sign the legislation is either dead for the year or may be carried by a different lawmaker.
UPDATE from Politico: Green, a Republican state senator from Tennessee and a West Point grad, met with President Donald Trump on Wednesday during his trip to a rally in Nashville where they solidified the deal.
“We do not have any personnel announcements at this time,” said White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
A source close to Green said that he’s currently filling out intensive background checks that the White House personnel office and FBI will review.
