Obama nominee for defense likely to get confirmed: top Republican
Source: Reuters
A senior Republican senator said on Sunday that party colleagues will drop tactics to delay a vote on former Senator Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary, saying that President Barack Obama's nominee likely has sufficient support to be confirmed into this key post.
"We will have a vote when we get back, and I am confident that Senator Hagel will probably have the votes necessary to be confirmed as the secretary of defense," Arizona Senator John McCain, who has led the opposition against his former Republican colleague, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
Democrats, who control the Senate, have scheduled a vote for February 26, after members return from a week-long recess. Republicans held up the nomination last week in a delay characterized as the first time the Senate had used a procedural tactic called a filibuster to block a defense nominee.
With Democrats holding 55 votes in the 100-seat Senate, Hagel's nomination is expected to win the simple majority of 51 votes needed for his confirmation to become the civilian leader at the Pentagon, once such a vote is allowed.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/17/us-obama-nominations-hagel-idUSBRE91G0AW20130217
It is just amazing that the media does not hold Republicans like Ted Cruz accountable for attacking a Republican, decorated Vietnam War veteran as being an Iranian sympathizer and filibustering such a nomination. If Democrats engaged in such filibusters with similar frequency the media would be going crazy.
Bigbluebrush
(66 posts)Republicans are realizing that Obama's next nominee will be even less friendly to Republican causes.
Cha
(297,655 posts)it's "amazing though. It's par for the US "media's" course to carry water for the Plutocrats.
We do have Social Media now though and we can point out how once again the "media" is Pimping for the Plutocrats.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Better than tossing the whole country under the bus. Then comes March 1st. Anyone see a connection?
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)You are exactly right and the Senate Dems know this. That is why they rarely did it, and why it will continue to be a rare act on the Dem side. Which, of course, is all the more reason to get rid of this unconstitutional monstrosity that is the filibuster. It really only favors the Republicans...and does great harm to our country.
alp227
(32,052 posts)Jennicut
(25,415 posts)Except he can't. Because he is just a bitter old man. This was done for petty reasons only. Totally an abuse of power. Thanks again, Harry Reid.
Capt.Rocky300
(1,005 posts)his first act should be to call up McCain and Graham to active duty and send them to someplace where there are no TV shows to appear on Sunday mornings.