A retired Army National Guard noncommissioned officer who was once the top Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee could become the next vice president.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will be her running mate. That puts someone with an enlisted background on both presidential tickets after Republican nominee former President Donald Trump chose Marine veteran Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate.
Patrick Murphy, an Army veteran who was Walz' roommate when they were both freshmen in Congress, called Walz a "soldier's soldier."
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"The two largest federal agencies are DoD and the VA, so someone who has intimate knowledge of both is incredibly important," Murphy, who served as Army under secretary during the Obama administration, said in a phone interview with Military.com. "He was a field artilleryman who has tinnitus as diagnosed by the VA, so he understands the plight of our brother and sister veterans."
Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard in Nebraska in 1981 and retired honorably in 2005 as the top enlisted soldier for 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery Regiment, in the Minnesota National Guard, according to a copy of his records provided by the Minnesota Guard. He reached the rank of command sergeant major and served in that role, but he officially retired as a master sergeant for benefits purposes because he didn't finish a required training course, according to the records and a statement from the Minnesota Guard.
His Guard career included responding to natural disasters in the United States, as well as a deployment to Italy to support U.S. operations in Afghanistan, according to a 2018 article by Minnesota Public Radio. Walz earned several awards, including the Army Commendation Medal and two Army Achievement Medals, according to his military records. Working a civilian job as a high school teacher and football coach, the Nebraska native was also named that state's Citizen Soldier of the Year in 1989, according to official biographies.
During the 2022 Minnesota governor's race, Walz' opponent accused him of leaving the Guard when he did in order to avoid a deployment to Iraq, though Walz maintained he retired in order to focus on running for Congress, according to the Star Tribune newspaper.
Far-right commentators and media resurfaced those allegations and knocked him for never serving in combat -- something he has never claimed to do -- in contrast with Vance's deployment to Iraq as a combat correspondent.
"Looks like it is time to bring back Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Oof. Walz is a really unforced error. He bailed on the military when they decided to send him to Iraq. JD Vance actually served," conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson posted on social media Tuesday.
Walz was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2006, becoming the highest-ranking retired enlisted soldier to serve in Congress.
His tenure in Congress included sitting on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, rising to be its ranking member in 2017.
"Walz' leadership on behalf of his fellow veterans when he was in the U.S. House of Representatives is notable at a time when our all-volunteer force continues to struggle to recruit," Allison Jaslow, CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said in a statement praising the choice of a veteran to be vice presidential nominee. "How we care for our veterans is as important to our national security as how we care for our troops, and Walz has a record to prove that he understands that imperative."
As the top Democrat on the committee, Walz was a chief adversary for the Trump administration's Department of Veterans Affairs. He battled with then-acting VA Secretary Peter O'Rourke in 2018 during a standoff over O'Rourke's handling of the inspector general's office, and pushed for an investigation into the influence of a trio of informal VA advisers who were members of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club. An investigation by House Democrats completed after Walz left Congress concluded that the so-called Mar-a-Lago trio "violated the law and sought to exert improper influence over government officials to further their own personal interests."
Walz also opposed the Mission Act, the bill that expanded veterans' access to VA-funded care by non-VA doctors that Trump considers one of his signature achievements. Walz said in statements at the time that, while he agreed the program for veterans to seek outside care needed to be fixed, he believed the Mission Act did not have sustainable funding. VA officials in recent years have said community care costs have ballooned following the Mission Act.
Walz supported another bill that Trump touts as a top achievement, the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which sought to make it easier for the VA to fire employees accused of misconduct or poor performance. But the implementation of that law was later part of Walz' fight with O'Rourke. The law also faced legal challenges that prompted the Biden administration to stop using the expedited firing authorities granted by the bill.
Walz was also an early proponent of doing more for veterans exposed to toxins during their military service, sponsored a major veterans suicide prevention bill and advocated for the expansion of GI Bill benefits. And he repeatedly pushed the VA to study marijuana usage to treat PTSD and chronic pain, something that could come up in a future administration if the Department of Justice finalizes reclassifying marijuana into a category of drugs considered less dangerous.
Walz' time in Congress also included a stint on the House Armed Services Committee, a perch he used to advocate for benefits for members of the National Guard.
Walz consistently voted in support of the annual defense policy bill, as well as advocated for repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that effectively banned gay and lesbian service members.
"He was my battle buddy in the fight to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and it wouldn't have happened if we didn't have Command Sgt. Maj. Tim Walz helping lead the fight," Murphy said.
Since becoming governor of Minnesota in 2019, Walz' role as commander in chief of the Minnesota National Guard has come under a spotlight several times. In response to a request from the Minneapolis mayor, he activated the Guard in May 2020 to assist law enforcement when some protests over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd turned destructive. At the time, Minneapolis' mayor accused Walz of being too slow to order the deployment, a charge he denied.
"It is time to rebuild. Rebuild the city, rebuild our justice system, and rebuild the relationship between law enforcement and those they're charged to protect," Walz said in a statement when he announced the activation.
He also activated the Guard to protect the Minnesota state Capitol in January 2021 amid fears that Trump supporters could riot at state houses like they did at the U.S. Capitol that month. And he's used the Guard for missions that are more routine for the service, such as to help after heavy flooding earlier this summer.
As news broke Tuesday of Walz' selection, he quickly won praise from other Democratic veterans.
"Having a person who wore the uniform and who deployed around the world adds to the ticket someone who can connect with veterans and military families in a way that no one but a veteran can," Jon Soltz, chairman of liberal political action committee VoteVets, said in a statement.
-- Steve Beynon contributed to this story.
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