Graham: Trump lets generals be generals

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday praised President Trump for giving Pentagon officials greater freedom in making decisions without White House approval. 

{mosads}“President Trump says, ‘I’ve got good generals.’ He’s going to let them be generals. The generals trust their lord commanders. There’s still accountability in the system,” Graham said on “Fox & Friends.”

“I’m very happy; from a war fighter’s point of view, this is great news,” he added.

Graham contrasted Trump with former President Obama, whom he said got too involved in the Pentagon’s decisions. 

“The Obama administration was micromanagement. They would have National Security Council meetings on whether or not you could deploy two helicopters,” Graham said, before calling Trump’s approach “great news for those fighting this war and bad news for [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria].” 

Defense Secretary James Mattis asked the White House for authorization to use the military as “limited support” for the Saudi-led coalition combating Houthi rebels in Yemen, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that the White House may give the Pentagon more say in their counterterrorism efforts. 

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that “the protocol is not changing in terms of what has to be signed off” by giving the Pentagon more authority, but it would be giving more trust to military experts.