US Senate blocks defence secy nominee
16 Feb 2013 6:17 AM IST
For the first time in American history, Senate Republicans blocked a nominee for Secretary of Defence, evoking an angry response from the White House, which termed the posturing against Chuck Hagel's nomination an action against ‘national interest.’
However, the White House and lawmakers exuded confidence that the Senate would confirm Hagel as the next Defence Secretary when the Congress comes back from recess on 25 February. ‘On Friday's action runs against both the majority will of the Senate and our nation's interest,’ White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said after the Senate Republicans in a 58-40 vote blocked Hagel's nomination as Defence secretary from proceeding to a final up-or-down vote.
‘This waste of time is not without consequence. We have 66,000 men and women deployed in Afghanistan, and we need our new Secretary of Defence to be a part of significant decisions about how we bring that war to a responsible end,’ Carney said.
‘Next week in Brussels, the United States will meet with our allies to talk about the transition in Afghanistan at the NATO Defence Ministerial, and our next Secretary of Defence should be there. With questions about the sequester looming over the Pentagon, our Secretary of Defence should be in place,’ he argued.
Later in a statement, Senator Ran Paul, who has blocked the nomination of Hagel and also that of John Brennan, as CIA Director, defended his decision.
Support of at least 60 Senators is required to remove this block. ‘I have placed a hold on the nomination of John Brennan to serve as director of the CIA until he answers the question of whether or not the President can kill American citizens through the drone strike,’ Paul said.
However, the White House and lawmakers exuded confidence that the Senate would confirm Hagel as the next Defence Secretary when the Congress comes back from recess on 25 February. ‘On Friday's action runs against both the majority will of the Senate and our nation's interest,’ White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said after the Senate Republicans in a 58-40 vote blocked Hagel's nomination as Defence secretary from proceeding to a final up-or-down vote.
‘This waste of time is not without consequence. We have 66,000 men and women deployed in Afghanistan, and we need our new Secretary of Defence to be a part of significant decisions about how we bring that war to a responsible end,’ Carney said.
‘Next week in Brussels, the United States will meet with our allies to talk about the transition in Afghanistan at the NATO Defence Ministerial, and our next Secretary of Defence should be there. With questions about the sequester looming over the Pentagon, our Secretary of Defence should be in place,’ he argued.
Later in a statement, Senator Ran Paul, who has blocked the nomination of Hagel and also that of John Brennan, as CIA Director, defended his decision.
Support of at least 60 Senators is required to remove this block. ‘I have placed a hold on the nomination of John Brennan to serve as director of the CIA until he answers the question of whether or not the President can kill American citizens through the drone strike,’ Paul said.
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