President Donald Trump has every right to weigh in on a Navy review of SEAL commando Eddie Gallagher's status with the elite unit, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., said Sunday.
In an interview with CNN's "State of the Union," Zeldin defended Trump's tweeted support of Gallagher, who is facing a hearing on the chief petty officer's continued designation as a member of the SEALs.
"As commander in chief, it is his prerogative to weigh in like he did," Zeldin said.
"Whether it's a past president of future president, as commander in chief it's their prerogative if they want to defend somebody like this who has really gone through a lot to earn those types of awards," Zeldin said.
"It is not easy to earn that Trident and become a Navy SEAL," he noted, adding it takes "great pain, great sacrifice."
A military jury convicted Gallagher in July of posing with a corpse in Iraq during a 2017 deployment. He was acquitted of several other charges, including murder.