Ahead of his confirmation hearing Thursday to be the next Secretary of Defense, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis has committed to resigning from the board of a major arms manufacturer and divest all shares he owns in the company.
In an “executive branch personnel public financial disclosure report” filed Saturday with the Office of Government Ethics, Mattis declared he would resign as a board member of General Dynamics [GD] and sell all of the GD stock he owns upon confirmation.
“Upon confirmation, I will resign from my position with General Dynamics,” Mattis wrote in a letter to Jennifer O’Connor, general counsel and designated agency ethics official published on the OGE website Jan. 7.
The letter also states Mattis will not participate in any matter involving GD for a year prior to his resignation as secretary of defense. Mattis owns stock, unvested restricted stock and vested and unvested stock options in GD. If confirmed, he would forfeit all restricted stock and options that have not been vested before he takes office, the letter states. He further committed to divesting all GD stock within 90 days of his possible confirmation.
The prospective defense secretary and former chief of U.S. Central Command completed an untitled book that will be published by Random House and has an agreement to receive royalties on the work, according to the letter. Mattis said he has completed writing the book and “all other activities required under the publishing agreement,” but will not engage in any further work or promotional activity for the book.
Mattis reported owning between $600,000 and $1.25 million in vested and unvested stock and stock options in the disclosure report. He also earned $242,000 in director’s fees through Dec. 31, according to the disclosure report.
Aside from GD, Mattis also pledged to resign from his position as a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution think tank. He already has given up seats on the boards of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank, the Tri-Cities Food Bank based in Kennewick, Wash., the Marine’s Memorial Club and the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, according to the document.
Mattis also already has resigned as a board member of medical technology company Theranos, which came under fire for misrepresenting the effectiveness of its seemingly groundbreaking diagnostic tests. He still holds stock in the company and will keep it, because “the duties of the position of secretary are unlikely to involve particular matters affecting the financial interests of Theranos,” Mattis wrote.
Mattis will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Jan. 12. His is one of seven Trump Administration Cabinet picks who will parade through Capitol Hill this week. Lawmakers will grill retired Marine Gen John Kelly, who is nominated to lead the Department of Homeland Security and CIA Director nominee Mike Pompeo on Tuesday.
Because Mattis has been out of uniform for only three years, he also must receive a waiver from Congress to serve as the Defense Department’s top civilian. The National Security Act of 1947 requires military leaders to be retired from service for at least seven years before becoming Secretary of State.
SASC plans to take up that issue immediately after the confirmation hearing Thursday.