CABINET/DEFENSE/JAMES MATTIS: "Mattis, a retired four-star general, was asked if he foresaw disagreements with Michael Flynn, the retired three-star general whom Trump has picked as his national security advisor. Flynn reportedly opposed the nomination of Mattis for the top Pentagon post.
Mattis replied with a smile that he did not.
'As you know, you need different ideas to be strongly argued,' he said. 'You don’t want the tyranny of consensus, of group-think.'
Saying the Trump Cabinet included a 'healthy' mix of rivals, he added, 'It’s not tidy. It’ll be respectful, of that I’m certain. And I don’t expect anything but the best ideas will win.' "
– “James Mattis draws little flak at confirmation hearing to head Defense Department,” Los Angeles Times, Jan 12, 2017, W. J. Hennigan, 1/12/2017