A full business meeting of the US Senate was set to convene Tuesday afternoon to consider the nomination of Chuck Hagel as the next Defence Secretary as White House spokesman Jay Carey insisted in a press briefing Monday that despite mounting opposition amongst the former Senator’s peers, “we believe firmly that Senator Hagel will be confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense”.
The meeting will conclude with a full Senate vote, the result of which will decide whether Hagel will become the successor to outgoing Defence Secretary Leon Panetta.
Attempting to defuse tensions surrounding the controversial choice of the divisive Republican by Democrat President Barack Obama, which has seen critics seize on his unwavering past support for a uniquely diplomatic track to addressing the Iranian nuclear threat as well as his previous attacks on pro-Israel lobbies, Carney insisted that “we have seen an increase in the number of senators who have come out and said that they will vote to confirm him” across the political spectrum since he was roundly attacked by 100 of his peers on the Senate Armed Services Committee last month, notably led by former Republican ally and 2008 presidential candidate John McCain.
Attributing lingering opposition to his appointment due to critics of the State and Defence departments botched response to September’s attack on the US Embassy in Benghazi which resulted in the deaths of four consulate staff including the ambassador, he added that such personalities attempted to politicise the Benghazi issue “through nominees that themselves had nothing to do with Benghazi -- and to do so in a way that only does harm to our national security”.
However, he refuted suggestions that a contingent of Senators, led by vocalSouth Carolina representative Lindsay Graham, would attempt to delay Hagel’s nomination in an effort to gain time and information on the reasons and circumstances behind the Benghazi communication failure, invoking McCain’s own insistence that “we have never filibustered (employed delaying tactics) a Cabinet appointee and I do not believe we should filibuster his nomination” in reference to Tuesday’s crucial vote.
Fellow Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma previously implied in a US television interview Sunday that he would employ delaying tactics in an effort to block the nomination from proceeding, as he cited Hagel’s controversial positions on Iran and Israel as causes for concern.
“This is the type of thing you can’t accept,” he told Fox News. “I’m going to do my best to see he’s not the secretary of defense.”
Contending that all answers had already been providing as to the administration’s handling of the terrorist attack in Libya, he described continuing efforts to conflate Hagel’s nomination with the politicising of Benghazi as “unfortunate”, calling on the Senate to once and for all confirm the nomination, following fellow Obama selection John Kerry’s own straightforward confirmation as Secretary of State last month.
Citing Hagel’s own military background, as well as the demands on US troops abroad particularly in Afghanistan, Carney insisted that “it is clear that Senator Hagel is uniquely qualified to be Secretary of Defence, and it is clear that he has at least substantial – a majority of senators who would vote to confirm in”.
“We need to move forward with this nomination and make sure we have a Secretary of Defense, which is a key post when it comes to our national security interests,” he added.