Alex Wong/Getty ImagesAccording to reports, President-elect Donald Trump has tapped recently retired Marine General James Mattis to be his secretary of defense. The Mattis pick has been circulating as a rumor for weeks, and most of the commentary have focused on two aspects: 1) Mattis’ penchant for offering highly quotable, pithy, but slightly impolitic observations, and 2) to be confirmed, he would need Congress to pass a law lifting the restriction on recently retired general officers serving in this post. The first aspect likely attracted Trump to Mattis.