She’s a rank fabulist.
New Jersey Democratic congresswoman Mikie Sherrill’s campaign has repeatedly inflated her rank in the United States Navy in fundraising emails, the Washington Free Beacon can reveal.
In more than 20 fundraising appeals during her time in Congress, Team Sherrill referred to the congresswoman as a lieutenant commander. That designation, however, is false, according to Sherrill’s Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty form, which clearly states she retired from the service as a lieutenant.
The misrepresentations came in the form of boilerplate language affixed to the end of emails.
“Mikie Sherrill was a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy. Use of her military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense,” read the regular disclaimer.
Sherrill attended the United States Naval Academy and immediately signed up with the Navy after she graduated in 1994. She served there until 2003, according to her discharge form. In 2003, she was nominated to the rank of lieutenant commander, but was never confirmed, public records show.
“Promoting yourself, especially as a political candidate, to a higher rank. It’s the most egregious thing that a military officer can do when you’re running for office,” Rob Maness, who spent 32 years in the Air Force before retiring as a colonel in 2011, told the Free Beacon.
Sherrill herself has been more cautious when listing her rank, using her correct title in public statements while running for Congress. “I left the Navy as a lieutenant after spending almost 10 years as a helicopter pilot. I worked as a federal prosecutor in New Jersey. And I am the mother of four children,” she wrote in NJ.com in May 2017.
But with her own House campaign pumping out misinformation, the rank inflation spread—reaching the highest levels of government. In October 2021, then-president Joe Biden referred to Sherrill as “lieutenant commander” during public remarks in the Garden State touting his infrastructure deal.
“And one of my favorite members of Congress, who I campaigned for and she won in spite of it: Mikie Sherrill—Lieutenant Commander of the United States Navy, a naval graduate of Georgetown Law. Incredible person,” Biden gushed. A one-time Biden staffer, who worked closely with the former president, told the Free Beacon it was “more likely than not” the bad info got into Biden’s mouth via Sherrill’s office.
“It’s plausible and perhaps even likely the White House would have reached out to Mikie Sherrill’s team for a few bullets for inclusion in the president’s speech,” the insider said.
In her 2022 reelection campaign, the With Honor Fund, a super PAC which backed Sherrill, touted her as a “lieutenant commander” in campaign ads.
The false designation also proliferated in news reports about Sherrill both in New Jersey and elsewhere, which the congresswoman seemingly made no effort to correct. The Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, the New Jersey Herald, NJ.com, and more all referred to Sherrill as a “lieutenant commander.”
“Is there some sort of Tim Walz epidemic of false claims about military rank going on? It’s crazy. Some people didn’t feel that their service was enough so they embellish it. And it’s shameful and military people will not stand for that kind of false claim,” Jim Hanson, a consultant and former Special Forces NCO told the Free Beacon.
Reached for comment, Team Sherrill admitted the exaggerations—but passed the buck to a vendor.
“Mikie proudly served in the U.S. Navy for nearly 10 years as a lieutenant and a helicopter aircraft commander. Five years ago, a vendor, who is no longer with the campaign, made a mistake on a handful of emails and it was corrected as soon as the team caught it,” a spokesman told the Free Beacon. Her campaign would not name the vendor or confirm how many emails with the false information went out or when the problem was resolved.
Sherrill has leaned heavily into her military career during her time in public office. Her official House biography notes her decade in active duty service for the Navy and touts missions in Europe and the Middle East as a Sea King helicopter pilot. She is a longtime member of the House Armed Services Committee.
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