A controversy over Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record has become the center of the latest political storm in Congress, with military veterans from both parties speaking out about the new Democratic vice presidential nominee.
Republicans have accused Walz of lying about his 24-year career in the National Guard, and Republicans who served in the military have attacked him for leaving the guard to run for Congress just before his unit was deployed to Iraq.
Veteran Democrats in Congress jumped to Walz’s defense, pointing out that he served 20 years beyond the mandatory retirement age and dismissing the Republican attacks as baseless.
“The veterans community is outraged right now that Tim Walz is refusing to answer questions about his military history,” Florida Republican Rep. Mike Walz, the first former Green Beret elected to Congress, told Fox News Digital.[He] “He misled voters about military ranks and appears to have abandoned his subordinates before deploying to Iraq. We expect our leaders to lead by example, and this is not it.”
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From left: Rep. Mike Walz (R-Fla.), a former Green Beret, is leading House Republicans’ attack on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record, while Democratic veteran Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) and others are on the defensive. (Getty Images)
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), a former Navy SEAL who served in multiple combat tours, told Fox News Digital, “He abandoned his soldiers and their families when they needed him most before deploying to combat. He stood by in Minnesota while soldiers risked their lives in Iraq. This is a cardinal sin for someone who has served our country honorably. There is no way he should ever be one step away from being commander in chief.”
The Harris campaign countered the Republican offensive at a press conference hosted by veteran House Democrats Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) and Rep. Miki Sherrill (D-Jersey).
“We have officers and NCOs who say he’s an exemplary, upstanding soldier,” said Auchincloss, a former Marine, adding that the attack on Waltz was “vicious.”
“This just shows how morally bankrupt they are. They have no ideas. They have no vision for the future. All they can do is attack, lie, twist and distort,” said Crow, a former Army Ranger.
The controversy began when Trump’s running mate, Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, a former Marine, accused Walz of “stealing his reputation.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris selected Waltz as her running mate earlier this week. (REUTERS/Kevin Mohat/Pool)
“When the United States Marine Corps, the United States of America, asked me to go to Iraq and serve my country, I did so. I followed their call and I did so honorably, and I am very proud of that service,” Vance said at a media event this week.
Crow responded to Vance in X: “It is outrageous to unfairly denigrate the service of a fellow veteran for personal gain. You have lost your way.”
Waltz served in the National Guard for 20 years before reenlisting after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and leaving just two months before his unit was ordered to deploy to Iraq, sparking accusations from critics that he did so to avoid deployment.
“Tim Waltz served honorably for 24 years,” Auchincloss said Thursday. “He decided to run for Congress before his battalion even received notice to deploy to Iraq.”
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He also compared his own record to that of Trump, who critics have accused of dodging the Vietnam War draft for health reasons, accusing him of having a “sordid record of disrespecting veterans.”
The Minnesota governor has never deployed to a combat zone, but Vance served in Iraq for six months in a non-combat role after the 2001 attacks.
It also emerged that Waltz had repeatedly claimed to have retired as a master sergeant, which was inaccurate: The National Guard said Waltz never completed the required equivalency coursework and was therefore reverted to his previous rank upon retirement.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) also criticized Walz. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In response, the Harris-Waltz campaign updated his biography page from “retired master sergeant” to “served as master sergeant.”
Where Waltz was deployed has also caused divisions between the right and left: While reenlisting, Waltz deployed to Italy in 2005 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the National Guard.
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“My battalion was responsible for base security throughout the European theater, from Turkey to the UK, during the early stages of the Afghanistan war,” he said in a resurfaced C-SPAN interview.
Critics attacked this, accusing Waltz of falsely claiming to have been deployed to Afghanistan, though it is not clear from the report whether Waltz ever said he had been deployed to Afghanistan.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Harris-Waltz campaign for comment.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
