Defense secretary nominee James Mattis on Wednesday abruptly canceled a planned hearing before the House Armed Services Committee this week, potentially complicating his confirmation process.
Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to oversee the Pentagon, is scheduled to testify at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday morning. But he was also scheduled to head across Capitol Hill and talk to House members later in the day, an unusual but not unprecedented appearance before both chambers.
On Wednesday, officials from Trump’s transition team told committee staff Mattis would not attend the second hearing.
