ADVERTISEMENT

Chelsea Clinton 'Grateful' for Mattis' Comments on Climate Change

Chelsea Clinton
Chelsea Clinton / AP
March 15, 2017

Chelsea Clinton and Secretary of Defense James Mattis appear to be on the same side of at least one issue: climate change.

Mattis said that climate change is a real threat that affects military operations in unpublished written testimony provided to the Senate Armed Services Committee after his confirmation hearing in January. The Pentagon chief's unpublished testimony was obtained by ProPublica on Tuesday.

"Climate change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops are operating today," Mattis wrote, responding to questions posed by Democratic members of the committee after the hearing. "It is appropriate for the Combatant Commands to incorporate drivers of instability that impact the security environment in their areas into their planning."

Clinton, the daughter of failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, said Wednesday via Twitter she is "grateful someone in the administration recognizes [that] climate change is real."

The former first daughter also suggested in her tweet that Mattis could talk to the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, and President Donald Trump about this issue.

Trump has said in the past that climate change is not real, while his older daughter, Ivanka Trump, reportedly has a strong interest in the issue.

Pruitt broke with mainstream views on climate change last week when he said that carbon dioxide is not a "primary contributor" to the planet's warming.