E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe committee vote for Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary is set for tomorrow.
Top Republicans on the committee are threatening a walk out, but John McCain (R-AZ) isn't one of them.
“I will not participate in any walkout of tomorrow’s Committee vote – an action that would be disrespectful to Chairman [Carl] Levin and at odds with the best traditions of the Senate Armed Services Committee," said McCain, who previously served as ranking member of the committee.
McCain and Hagel, who both served in Vietnam, were Senate allies until Hagel split with McCain over his criticism of the surge in Iraq, which McCain proposed.
McCain gave Hagel a hard time for that stance during his confirmation hearing, demanding a yes or no answer to whether he was right or wrong about the surge. Hagel refused, and instead said Iraq may have been the worst foreign policy decision since Vietnam.
But, despite that tension, in the days since that uneven testimony, McCain, who says he's leaning against Hagel's nomination, has come to Hagel's defense, arguing against the outright blockage of Hagel's nomination.
Days after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) left open the possibility of filibustering Hagel's nomination, McCain came out against that.
Then, after Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and James Inhofe (R-OK), the current ranking member of Armed Services, said they would try to block Hagel, McCain is saying those efforts go too far.
For Hagel's part, NBC's Michael Isikoff talked to Chuck Hagel’s brother Tom, who says Chuck Hagel will not withdraw. In fact, he’s going to “fight harder.” Tom Hagel says the only way he’d withdraw is if the White House wanted him to, and the White House is sticking by him.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he would hold a full Senate vote on Hagel either Wednesday or Thursday, reports NBC's Mike Viqueira.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this post reported that McCain was going to vote against Hagel, but McCain has not made a final decision. He is, instead "leaning against" Hagel.
Leave a Comment:
Thank you, Senator McCain, for doing the honorable thing.
There is no honor among thieves.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day and a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile.
Even blind pigs breed and that is the problem.
But ur still a douchebag!!
And we pay these guys to pull this kind of crap???
Bottom line: McCain wants Hagel confirmed, but not with his vote.
The GOP/TEA is making the Republicans LOOK MORE AND MORE EVERY DAY ' The STUPID PARTY"! I don't care for Bobby Jindal, because he is doing his level best to make the State of Louisana Third World in Terms of Education and Health Care.
However, when he labeled the GOP/TEA as the "Stupid Party" I could not agree with him more. When you have Senators on a Committee willing to Walk out on their Job to vote yea or nay on a Nominated Candidate, their only answer is to Walk Out. - WOW. How Nasty is that for an Opposition Party HATING on a sitting President?
They are trying to hold Chuck Hagel Accountable for something that happened and he had nothing to do with Government. Can we hear something about what Sen. Hagel will do with our Future Military, STUPID PARTY?
So this is what "advice and consent" looks like ... a bunch of man-child Senators who put Israel's warmongering anti-Iraq and anti-Iran interests above their our country. Shameful and Treasonous.
No more US blood & treasure for the zionist pukes.
Watch the GOP turds eat their own,,losers
The Republicans actually are planning to walk out of the vote? Can't they wait for a break to have their scheduled diaper change??
Yep,total losers
America spoke Gtf out retards,,aka repukes
Closeted homosexual Lindsey Graham and the Right Wing nut James Inhofe have proven themselves to be nothing more than tools of the Far Right neocons who never saw a war that they wouldn't have someone else fight. To think two disgraceful examples of the Senates old white men club are trying to block a war hero and fellow Republican. Shameful indeed.
I see someone thanked McCain for doing the honorable thing...lol. McCain hasn't done the honorable thing in the last 5 years. He just did this to save his party and his power.
We are witnessing the beginning of the end of the once great Republican Party.
They are just about done. They are on a path of self destruction. They won't win a national election for the next 8 to 12 years. It'll take that long to separate the bodies.
We can thank the Tea Party for this collapse. Who woulda thunk it?
So tell us LF, why are these picks horrible? Be specific now and no copy and pasting.
Leftisfascist ; If the Democrat Party is so failed, how come they won the White house ( second term ), won more seats in the Senate, and won more seats in the House ? I looked up the word failed in the dictionary. it just doesn't seem to fit with your statement.
It's simply the latest attempt by the Great Obstructionist Party to screw with two-term Obama. The GOP is imploding - hopefully painlessly and fast.
McCain is a 'fair weather' Republican. The Demos have scrambled his brain.
I think Sarah Palin scrambled McCain's brain - he has not been the same since she came on board
btw - has anyone noticed how pleasant it is now that she is gone
So, the Republicans are planning a walk out of the Senate. Where has this happened before? Oh Yea, 1930's Germany,when the Nazis did a walk out. Wow, these Nazi Republicans are getting really bold in following Adolf's plan.
The GOP hates everyone... even there own party members.
The real reason they don't want Hagel is he will cut defense spending and wasteful programs and military/industrial special interest that run the GOP are opposed. If the savings go to reducing the debt, why would they be against it? They didn't care about debt under Bush but since Obama's president it's the worst thing in the world. These are the same people who will be screaming bloody murder when Obama proposes reducing the nuclear arsenal to 1,000 warheads... 1,000 ways to destroy the earth is just not enough for these people. I can't stand Republicans... fools and hypocrites.
Contemporary combat has been a result of extremely poor foreign policy. We have had a slew of incompetent and weak presidents. The United States has suffered pain from presidents that mismanaged the nation. But, the American people are at fault for this, too. This is contributory negligence - because we did not hold these presidents accountable for war crimes when they ought to have been tried. All parties involved in these military campaigns suffered. I am deeply disturbed by this current president's general lackadaisical attitude toward the Middle East, but more importantly, his failure to protect his soldiers that lost their lives.
Mr. Obama has admitted to owning drone capacity in 2013. He failed to save the lives of soldiers in Afghanistan - the unit that was just decorated by him. That loss of life was unnecessary, then. All of the news reports on this as valid fact shows evidence that he must be impeached.
We cannot afford to have incompetence in office.
Senator McCain is also incompetent. His service record proves that. Why he is on this committee is unbelievable. But, again - the American people permitted it.
These are facts which have been proven.
Some congressman just don't get it. I have little problem with a no vote but the my way or no way attitude of some congressmem is too miuch.
Man what is up with that Troll name "Leftisfacist".
Just looking at the comments above, this dumba$$ decided to respond to people post around 3:50am in the morning. Obviously, this person don't have a life at all to post comments that early in the morning knowing those people he responded to are long gone from FR last night.
Can we say SICKO!!
The Teabegger Congress will be voted out in 2014, and then our citizens will make sure they walk out for good. Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! The Party of NO has got to go!
I'm a republican and McCain is right, it's time for both sides of the isle to put on their big boy & girl pants and do what's right for the country and quit the party BS. Start with acting like adults walking out is totally childish.
Im an independent I guess but first I am an American we all are going to have to give and give up some things. This debate about Hagel and gun control are no winners while the issues that can be dealt with are kicked down the road. The social issues, tell you what you keep your God to you and I will keep mine to me and lets leave it at that. We are 25th in the world in infrastructure people we are sliding into becoming a 3rd world country while we fight war after war. Empires always fall because they overextended themselves and that is what we are doing.
In 2000 in Chicago I waited in line for 2 hours for John McCain to sign my copy of his book, a very good book. John McCain pushed immigration reform, the settlement with the tobacco companies, most of you don't understand how the man was a true patriot. He refused to be released early by the North Vietnamese because military protocol says first captured, first released. I am glad to see there is still some of that left in him, now if he would just call Palin the slut she is, and finish his long life of public service with the honor we all know he has. As for these people bringing up abortion, take your christian taliban sharia and put it where the sun doesn't shine. Want less govt. except you want to make women nothing but brood cows. This is why I support the 2nd ammendment, because I need a gun big enough to blow your trailer door off when I come after you.
L.G. is positioning himself to run for idiot of the year.
L.G. is going to have a difficult time trying to get Boehner to give up the crown.
I don't understand why they play these games. He testified, he made his case and his detractors made their case.
Just vote yes or no and let the it happen or not. Isn't that supposed to be what democracy is about?
This is so childish..
the idea of these confirmations wasn't for congress to get the guy of their choice but to make sure someone totally unqualified didnt get in. Disagreeing with the guys foreign policies is not a reason to vote against him. He is the Presidents cabinet guy after all. If the nominee was obama's mother in law, then that is the appropriate time to step in.
will be interestingto see who votes against Hagel, and if those that do are beinfactors of money from the jewish lobby.