WASHINGTON _ Congress passed a law Friday that will allow retired Marine Gen. James N. Mattis, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, to serve in the job if he is confirmed in the Senate.
The House voted 268-151 in favor of a bill that enables Mattis to circumvent a law that requires defense secretaries to be out of uniform for at least seven years, a provision intended to guarantee civilian control of the military.
Mattis retired from the Marines in 2013 after serving more than four decades.
The bill, which passed the Senate 81-17 on Thursday, next goes to the White House for President Barack Obama's signature.
"I think you can anticipate if it makes it to the president's desk, he will sign it," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Friday.
The House vote saw a wave of Democratic opposition after Trump's transition team did not allow Mattis to testify before the House Armed Services Committee about civilian control of the military.
Mattis, who is widely respected in the military and on Capitol Hill, had told the House committee he planned to appear, but ultimately pulled out.
With the waiver now approved, Mattis appears on track to win easy confirmation in the Senate next week. He sailed through his confirmation hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Though 18 of the 25 men who have run the Pentagon since 1947 had previously served in the military, Mattis is only the second to require a waiver.
In 1950, President Harry Truman nominated former Army Gen. George Marshall to head the Pentagon at the outset of the Korean War. Marshall already had served as secretary of state, and Congress granted the exemption.
