For the Record: The next Defense secretary called war ‘a hell of a hoot’

Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed that  his pick for Defense secretary will be James “Mad Dog” Mattis, a bookish, tough-talking retired Marines Corps general who’s criticized the Obama administration and called war “a hell of a hoot.”

"It's fun to shoot some people,” Mattis, who will oversee a $600 billion budget and 1 million active-duty troops, said in 2005.

Mattis led the military’s Central Command, presiding over operations in the Middle East. He retired in 2013. Over his 40-plus-year career, he led troops in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq and spoke bluntly of war in a way that appealed to troops.

Trump on Thursday compared Mattis to Gen. George Patton, the legendary World War II commander, while Sen. John McCain called him “one of the finest military officers of his generation.”

The developments all but rule out any possibility of the Defense secretary role going to The General, the poorly animated CGI spokesman for auto insurance who we hoped was Trump’s second pick.

It’s For the Record, the politics newsletter from USA TODAY.

What’s Mattis mean?

Mattis is a legend in the eyes of some, a never-married bachelor known as the “warrior monk.” He references ancient Greeks and Romans and talks about “slaughtering” the enemy. When he once led a division during an assault into Iraq, his call sign was “chaos.”

Picking Mattis to lead the Defense Department points to Trump wanting a wartime leader, USA TODAY’s Jim Michaels reports. Trump spoke often during his campaign about defeating the Islamic State, claiming he had a secret plan to wipe out the organization.

“I know more about ISIS than the generals do,” boasted Trump, who said his plan involved bombing “the s--- out of them” and taking oil from the region.

Whether Trump thinks he knows more than Mattis remains unclear, but the next Defense secretary must oversee thousands of on-the-ground troops addressing the Islamic State overseas.

And if Mattis’ criticism of the Obama administration is any indication, he could back Trump’s calls for more aggressive military action abroad.

“We want to crush the enemy’s hope to win through violence,” Mattis said in 2014.

Carrier: a wayward dud?

Details remained hazy Thursday about just what tax breaks heating company Carrier would receive for agreeing not to lay off hundreds of workers at its Indianapolis plant. Not hazy: Trump’s desire to take credit for the deal.

"Companies are not going to leave the United States anymore without consequences,” Trump said while celebrating at the plant Thursday.

But will companies stay in the United States anymore without also getting big tax breaks? Bernie Sanders is skeptical.

In a ThursdayWashington Posteditorial the Vermont senator said Carrier’s deal basically told American corporations that they could threaten to leave the states and get government incentives in return.

“Trump has endangered the jobs of workers who were previously safe in the United States,” Sanders wrote.

House Speaker Paul Ryan pushed back against Sanders and other critics of the deal, though he admitted he didn’t know the agreement’s terms.

"I'm pretty happy that we're keeping jobs in America, aren't you?" Ryan said.

Meanwhile, an anonymous Trump transition official said there was “nothing unusual” about the deal, since it utilized common state-level incentives. Sources familiar with the plan, however, said federal contracts played a bigger role.

Mexico ambassador: Seriously, we’re not paying for a wall

With Trump already softening on key campaign promises, Mexico’s ambassador warned he’ll have to back down on one more: getting Mexico to pay for a border wall.

"We have said time and again Mexico is not paying for the wall," Carlos Manuel Sada Solana, Mexico's top diplomat to the U.S., toldthe Arizona Republic Wednesday.

"That is something that has been said several times by the president of Mexico, the secretary of foreign affairs, secretary of economy, the secretary of finance," he continued. "So we are not paying for the wall."

That’s not to say Mexico doesn’t want a safe and effective border, said Sada, who called on the U.S. to pass immigration-reform legislation.

“Mexico is not the enemy” of the U.S., Sada said. “It is the partner.”

Around the transition

• Mike Pence’s new DC neighbors fly gay-pride flags (Indianapolis Star)
• Newt Gingrich said Trump’s dinner with Romney felt like ‘Pretty Woman’ (USA TODAY)
• Trump’s anti-pot attorney general pick harshes the marijuana movement’s buzz (USA TODAY)
• Elizabeth Warren backs Republican Scott Brown for Trump’s VA Secretary (USA TODAY)

Trump thinks Pakistan is just ‘fantastic,' Pakistan says

Trump spoke with Pakistan’s prime minister earlier this week, describing the conversation as “productive.” The president-elect was more colorful and effusive on the call, if Pakistan’s statement is to be believed:

“You are a terrific guy,” Trump said, according to the statement. “You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way. I am looking forward to see you soon. As I am talking to you Prime Minister, I feel I am talking to a person I have known for long.”