In September 2017 , President Donald Trump nominated Winslow to become the next Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs . Winslow 's nomination was put on indefinite hold , and Winslow withdrew from consideration in December 2017 . The day after the November 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting , when asked about the tragedy , Winslow said " I 'd also like to ... just say how insane it is that in the United States of America a civilian can go out and buy a semi-automatic weapon like an AR-15 . " After his nomination was put on indefinite hold , Winslow wrote an editorial in the '' Washington Post '' titled " I spoke my mind on guns . Then my Senate confirmation was put on hold " In the editorial , he wrote : " I have seen what assault weapons like the AR-15 do to human beings . The injuries are devastating . " His nomination for Assistant Secretary of Defense was not formally withdrawn by President Trump but was instead returned unconfirmed to the President by the U.S. Senate on 3 January 2018 under Standing Rules of the United States Senate , Rule XXXI , paragraph 6
Sutherland Springs church shooting
Sutherland Springs church shooting
Dean Winslow