Finally. former senator Chuck Hagel has been confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense in a simple majority vote, 58 to 41.
Earlier Tuesday, members of the Senate voted to dispense with a filibuster that their Republican colleagues–all except four–had, two weeks earlier, defiantly upheld.
The Vietnam War veteran faced more than two months of intense opposition that strained partisan tensions even further. Some of the criticism hurled at Hagel included objections to his views on Middle East security, and controversial past comments.
Highlights of some of the key moments of the contentious confirmation process are below:
President Obama nominated former senator Chuck Hagel to be the next Defense Secretary of the United States on January 7, 2013.
Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham led the Republican opposition to Gen. Chuck Hagel’s confirmation claiming that he is unqualified for the post.
Hagel stumbled on questions regarding statements made about the “Jewish lobby” and his stance on the Iraq War as he testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. His lackluster performance further fueled Republican opposition.
On February 7, Breitbart News published a story linking Chuck Hagel to a nonexistent group called “Friends of Hamas”. Sen. Rand Paul claimed the explosive information was another reason to oppose Hagel’s nomination, but the story was reported to be false. The controversy even sparked this parody twitter account.
In a defiant political move, Senate Republicans managed to block the vote to advance Chuck Hagel’s nomination before the President’s Day recess. The vote was 58 to 40, leaving the Democrats two votes short of the required 60.
Fifteen GOP Senators joined together to write President Obama a letter formally requesting him to withdraw his nomination of Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary. John McCain did not sign the letter. See letter here: http://tinyurl.com/a8s6j5f
After weeks of stalling and political maneuvering, Chuck Hagel is confirmed as the next Defense Secretary.
