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| Hagel Confirmation Fight Heats Up Amid Talk of a Filibuster | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| WASHINGTON — Leading Senate Republicans say that without new information from the White House, they will try to block the confirmation of Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, setting up a showdown vote on Friday. | WASHINGTON — Leading Senate Republicans say that without new information from the White House, they will try to block the confirmation of Chuck Hagel, President Obama’s nominee to be secretary of defense, setting up a showdown vote on Friday. |
| While Democrats had hoped that Mr. Hagel could clear the Senate by the end of the week, several Republican senators have now indicated they will not support an effort to end the debate and take a final vote on his nomination, leaving Republicans mounting what appears to be the first filibuster in history against a Pentagon secretary — a post usually filled with strong bipartisan support. | While Democrats had hoped that Mr. Hagel could clear the Senate by the end of the week, several Republican senators have now indicated they will not support an effort to end the debate and take a final vote on his nomination, leaving Republicans mounting what appears to be the first filibuster in history against a Pentagon secretary — a post usually filled with strong bipartisan support. |
| Mr. Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska and decorated Vietnam veteran, had earlier appeared to have at least the 60 votes required to break a Republican filibuster. But Senator John McCain of Arizona and other Republicans who had said they might oppose Mr. Hagel but would not back a filibuster now say they will not support ending debate until they receive more detailed answers to questions about the administration’s response to the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. | Mr. Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska and decorated Vietnam veteran, had earlier appeared to have at least the 60 votes required to break a Republican filibuster. But Senator John McCain of Arizona and other Republicans who had said they might oppose Mr. Hagel but would not back a filibuster now say they will not support ending debate until they receive more detailed answers to questions about the administration’s response to the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. |
| Specifically, a group of Republican senators including Mr. McCain and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, have asked the president whether he spoke with anyone in the Libyan government to request assistance during the attack. | |
| In an effort to address these questions and quiet the political uproar that has erupted over the Hagel vote, the White House on Thursday wrote to the senators informing them that Mr. Obama spoke to the Libyan president the evening after the attack, not the day of. | |
| “We continue to urge the full Senate to act swiftly and confirm former Senator Hagel,” said the letter, which was from the White House counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler. | |
| Mr. Graham demurred when asked if his concerns had been addressed. | |
| “Nobody wants to filibuster the nomination,” Mr. Graham told reporters. “But on our side there’s a consensus that we need more information, and we have a right to get it.” | |
| The White House strongly condemned Republican efforts to stall the vote, saying they were sending the wrong signal to the world. "We urge the Republicans in the Senate to drop their delay," Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the president, told reporters aboard Air Force One. “There is a clear majority in the United States Senate for Senator Hagel’s confirmation. These delaying tactics are unconscionable, and they should end right away.” | The White House strongly condemned Republican efforts to stall the vote, saying they were sending the wrong signal to the world. "We urge the Republicans in the Senate to drop their delay," Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the president, told reporters aboard Air Force One. “There is a clear majority in the United States Senate for Senator Hagel’s confirmation. These delaying tactics are unconscionable, and they should end right away.” |
| With Democrats controlling 55 of the Senate’s 100 seats and a few Republicans saying they will back Mr. Hagel for the post, he appears to have the support to win confirmation if he can surmount the Republican procedural tactics. The current Pentagon secretary, Leon E. Panetta, is preparing to vacate his post imminently. A vote on the Democratic effort to end debate is set for Friday morning. With some Republicans remaining silent, it is still possible that Mr. Hagel will get the 60 necessary to cut off debate. | With Democrats controlling 55 of the Senate’s 100 seats and a few Republicans saying they will back Mr. Hagel for the post, he appears to have the support to win confirmation if he can surmount the Republican procedural tactics. The current Pentagon secretary, Leon E. Panetta, is preparing to vacate his post imminently. A vote on the Democratic effort to end debate is set for Friday morning. With some Republicans remaining silent, it is still possible that Mr. Hagel will get the 60 necessary to cut off debate. |
| Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, took to the floor on Thursday to denounce Republicans for trying to use the confirmation process for political gain and accused them of undermining the nation’s national security. | Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, took to the floor on Thursday to denounce Republicans for trying to use the confirmation process for political gain and accused them of undermining the nation’s national security. |
| “This isn’t a high school getting ready for a football game,” Mr. Reid said. “We’re trying to confirm somebody to run the defenses of our country, the military of our country.” | “This isn’t a high school getting ready for a football game,” Mr. Reid said. “We’re trying to confirm somebody to run the defenses of our country, the military of our country.” |
| He added: “For the sake of our national security, we need to put aside this political theater, and that’s what it is. People are worried about primary elections. We know how the Tea Party goes after election when they aren’t conservative enough. Is that something they need to have on their résumé? I filibustered one of the president’s nominees? Is that what they want?” | He added: “For the sake of our national security, we need to put aside this political theater, and that’s what it is. People are worried about primary elections. We know how the Tea Party goes after election when they aren’t conservative enough. Is that something they need to have on their résumé? I filibustered one of the president’s nominees? Is that what they want?” |
| Mr. Graham is among the senators up for re-election next year and is a leading critic of Mr. Hagel. Mr. Graham and Mr. McCain are close allies. | Mr. Graham is among the senators up for re-election next year and is a leading critic of Mr. Hagel. Mr. Graham and Mr. McCain are close allies. |
| Mr. Reid also said that the Republican objective was to kill the nomination, not gain information from the administration. | Mr. Reid also said that the Republican objective was to kill the nomination, not gain information from the administration. |
| “Make no mistake: Republicans are trying to defeat Senator Hagel’s nomination by filibustering while submitting extraneous requests that will never be satisfied,” he said. | “Make no mistake: Republicans are trying to defeat Senator Hagel’s nomination by filibustering while submitting extraneous requests that will never be satisfied,” he said. |
| Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, spoke directly after Mr. Reid but made no mention of Mr. Hagel or the upcoming vote. | Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, spoke directly after Mr. Reid but made no mention of Mr. Hagel or the upcoming vote. |
| Senate Republicans find themselves in a politically weakened position this year, having lost two seats in the 2012 election. And while they may see some political purpose in opposing a cabinet nominee of Mr. Obama, a Democrat, they are also mindful of the potentially precarious historical precedent they could set. | Senate Republicans find themselves in a politically weakened position this year, having lost two seats in the 2012 election. And while they may see some political purpose in opposing a cabinet nominee of Mr. Obama, a Democrat, they are also mindful of the potentially precarious historical precedent they could set. |
| The Senate generally affords the president the courtesy of being able to choose his cabinet, though there have been exceptions. | The Senate generally affords the president the courtesy of being able to choose his cabinet, though there have been exceptions. |
| According to the Senate’s historian, Donald A. Ritchie, only 5 percent of presidential cabinet nominees have been blocked or rejected by the Senate. And only twice since 1917, when the Senate’s modern filibuster rules were created, has a cabinet-level nominee been subject to a supermajority vote of 60, as Republicans are forcing with Mr. Hagel. | According to the Senate’s historian, Donald A. Ritchie, only 5 percent of presidential cabinet nominees have been blocked or rejected by the Senate. And only twice since 1917, when the Senate’s modern filibuster rules were created, has a cabinet-level nominee been subject to a supermajority vote of 60, as Republicans are forcing with Mr. Hagel. |
| In the case of Mr. Hagel the opposition is especially striking because senators have traditionally afforded their former colleagues a high level of courtesy. Instead, when Mr. Hagel testified before the Armed Services Committee he was pummeled. | In the case of Mr. Hagel the opposition is especially striking because senators have traditionally afforded their former colleagues a high level of courtesy. Instead, when Mr. Hagel testified before the Armed Services Committee he was pummeled. |