Kamala Harris‘ presidential campaign has updated its online biography of running mate Tim Walz military service amid Republican efforts to question his record in the Army National Guard.
The update comes a day after Republicans stepped up attacks on his record in the Army National Guard, accusing Walz of overstating his rank in retirement.
On its website, the Harris campaign dropped its reference to Walz as a “retired command sergeant major” and now says he once served at the rank of command sergeant major ᅳ a small change that nonetheless Reflects his actual rank upon retirement from the Army National Guard. Minnesota Governor Walz served in the National Guard for 24 years before retiring from the Army in 2005, where he became the most senior enlisted soldier to serve in Congress.
Led by GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran stationed in Iraq, Republicans have suggested Walz inflated his credentials by calling himself a “retired command sergeant major.” The Minnesota governor served as a command sergeant major but reverted to the rank of master sergeant when he left the Army because he had not completed the coursework required for the higher rank at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.
“Walzs achieved the rank of command sergeant major and served in that role but was retired as a master sergeant in 2005 for benefits purposes due to not completing additional coursework,” Army public affairs officer Lt. Col. Kristen Auge said in an earlier statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.