CABINET/DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS: "The topic of NATO was also raised by multiple senators. On the campaign trail, Trump indicated he may reconsider aspects of the US alliance with NATO, alarming lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Mattis, a former supreme allied commander of NATO, voiced unequivocal support for the alliance and said he had said as much to Trump.
'NATO, from my perspective … is the most successful military alliance certainly in modern world history, probably ever,' Mattis said. 'I have had discussions with him on this issue. He has shown himself open, even to the point of asking more questions and going deeper into the issue about why I feel so strongly.' "
– “Defense nominee Mattis emerges with strong support,” CNN Politics online, Jan 12, 2017, Tal Kopan, 1/12/2017