GOP scrutiny intensifies over Walz's military record

The GOP continues to hammer Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his military record, with the Harris campaign quickly pivoting to quell fresh questions on his deployment during the Afghanistan war.

Walz's 24 years in the Army National Guard have come under intense scrutiny by Republicans since he was tapped as Vice President Harris's running mate, particularly over whether he misrepresented his service. 

In the latest attack, Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) — the chair of the House Armed Services' Military Personnel subcommittee — sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking if Walz's embellishments amounted to “stolen valor.”

That comes after a flurry of GOP lawmakers led by vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) piled onto Waltz for leaving the Guard ahead of his unit’s deployment to Iraq. 

Vance, himself a Marine Corps veteran, also bashed Walz over a 2018 clip of him speaking out against gun violence, in which he says: “We can make sure that those weapons of war, that I carried in war, is the only place where those weapons are at.” The remarks suggest that Walz portrayed himself as having been in a combat zone.

In the Thursday letter to Austin, first reported by Axios, Banks writes of his concerns over how Walz represented his time in the Guard.

“The American people deserve transparency into the military records of service-members who serve in public office and especially when they represent such service as credentials for public office,” he wrote.

“Misrepresentation and deceit intended to mislead the public about their service erode the integrity of our military and impact all Americans who choose to serve.”

Harris’s presidential campaign quickly attempted damage control, issuing a statement Friday that asserts Walz “misspoke” in the video released by the campaign this past week, according to a campaign spokesperson.

“Governor Walz would never insult or undermine any American’s service to this country — in fact, he thanks Senator Vance for putting his life on the line for our country. It’s the American way,” they said in a statement, as reported by NBC News.

“In making the case for why weapons of war should never be on our streets or in our classrooms, the Governor misspoke. He did handle weapons of war and believes strongly that only military members trained to carry those deadly weapons should have access to them, unlike Donald Trump and JD Vance who prioritize the gun lobby over our children,” the spokesperson added.

The campaign also updated its online biography of Walz’s military service, noting on its website that he once served at the command sergeant major rank. The change, first reported by Politico, is a small tweak from its earlier reference to the vice presidential nominee as a “retired command sergeant major.” 

The website for Walz’s gubernatorial office in Minnesota still describes him as “Command Sergeant Major Walz.”

Walz did serve as a command sergeant major while in the military but he retired one step down as a master sergeant as he had not completed required coursework for the higher rank.

The National Guard in the past has said Walz served as a command sergeant major while in the Guard. 

“Walz attained the rank of command sergeant major and served in that role but retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefit purposes due to not completing additional coursework,” Army public affairs officer Lt. Col. Kristen Augé said in a 2022 statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

But that hasn’t stopped Republicans from accusing the Minnesota governor of stolen valor, the act of wearing or claiming to have received unearned military awards or ranks.

The attacks have been a main component of the GOP offensive against the Harris-Walz ticket as they look to combat the overwhelming rush of support for the Democrats immediately after Walz was announced as a running mate.

Vance, who deployed to Iraq but never saw combat, suggested that Walz was inflating his credentials and that he abandoned his unit ahead of its deployment to Iraq to avoid serving in a war zone. 

“When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him,” Vance said at the Michigan campaign event Wednesday.

And in his letter, Banks presses the Pentagon on when Walz started his retirement process, if he was “deployed overseas to Iraq or Afghanistan to serve in combat,” and whether he misrepresented his service.

He also asked Austin if he believes Walz “falsely claiming to have carried a combat weapon in war constitutes stolen valor,” and whether there are consequences for service members who have lied about their military record.

Democrats, meanwhile, have staunchly pushed back on the accusations, stressing that Walz left the service to run for the U.S. House in May 2005 before a deployment order was given to his unit in August of that year. One man who served under Walz backed up that claim, telling NewsNation’s Joe Khalil that Walz suspected he might be deployed soon but had been given no such official order at the time of his retirement. 

“After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform — and as Vice President of the United States he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families,” the Harris campaign said in a statement of support.