A day after rumors swirled that he would drop out of consideration for Army secretary, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and ten other representatives have sent a letter to the Senate in support of Tennessee state Sen. Mark Green.

The letter, dated Wednesday and addressed to Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., makes a plea to confirm Green as the next civilian head of the Army.

"Mark is a dedicated public servant with a long record of distinguished accomplishments in defense of the nation — serving as a rifle platoon leader, scout platoon leader, battalion personnel officer, a supply officer and an airborne rifle company commander in the famed 82nd Airborne Division," reads the letter, which was signed at the top by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

The lawmakers called on the senators to "give strong consideration to the totality of Mark's service and his record, while also recognizing that, as the case for any service secretary, he would be tasked with overseeing the service consistent with the priorities of the commander in chief."

A West Point graduate, Green went on to serve as a flight surgeon with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment after medical school.

On Tuesday, CNN reported that Green was considering withdrawing his name from consideration after weeks of news coverage focused on his past legislative record and comments regarding the LGBT community.

A representative for Green told Army Times that there was no truth to the rumor.

"[Green] is in Washington right now meeting with senators preparing for his confirmation hearing," Darren Morris said.

However, a hearing has not been scheduled on the Senate's executive calendar, and the congressional record shows no confirmation that the White House sent Green's nomination to the Senate following its April 7 announcement.

Green, who has previously referred to transgender people as having a disease and suggested that the Tennessee governor refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, told Army Times in April that he does not intend to bring his politics to the job.

"Any attempt to politicize personal statements or views that have been expressed by Mark at any point throughout his career must not be allowed to supersede his qualification or be conflated to create needless uncertainty with his nomination," Hunter's letter said.

Read the full letter

here

.

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

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