Auchincloss defends Walz’s service, calls attacks ‘desperate political smear job’

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) defended Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military service in a Sunday interview and called attacks on his record a “desperate political smear job.”

In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill Sunday” with Chris Stirewalt, Auchincloss said, “No, he did not,” when asked whether Waltz misrepresented his service.

“The attacks coming from Trump and Vance are simply a desperate political smear job,” Auchincloss said. “And they are in meltdown mode. They have been insulting women. They’ve been insulting the police. Now they’re insulting veterans.”

Walz has been under scrutiny in recent days as Republicans double down on their attacks about Walz’s decision to retire before his unit deployed to Iraq.

Auchincloss, who led a Marine combat command in Afghanistan, defended Walz’s decision and military service.

“Let’s put the facts on the table. Tim Walz served honorably for 24 years. He deployed multiple times to disaster areas. He was four years past his retirement when he had to make a hard decision between running for Congress or deploying with his unit to Iraq. He decided he could do more good for veterans in Congress, and he did.”  

“As the top Democrat on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, he helped expand and strengthen the GI Bill, and he helped expand access to mental health services,” Auchincloss said.

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