"Questions" remain about Hagel for Democrats, Republicans
Two Democratic and two Republican members of the committee that will hold the hearing to confirm - or deny - former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., as President Obama's pick to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that "questions" remain to be answered about the rogue Republican before they will commit to voting for him.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Armed Services Committee, which will hold Hagel's yet-to-be-scheduled confirmation hearing, said on "Fox News Sunday" he won't decide whether to back the president's nomination until after Hagel has made his case. Concerns about the Vietnam War veteran have come mostly from the right and the pro-Israel lobby, taking issue with Hagel's stance against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, his call for direct negotiations with Hamas and votes against some Iran sanctions.
"I'm not comfortable yet," Blumenthal said of the nomination. Though he predicted Hagel will be confirmed, "I'm going to want to ask questions," particularly about his controversial record with regard to Iran and Israel, he said.
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There are "serious questions" for Hagel to answer, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., agreed in an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation." Manchin said while he doesn't personally know Hagel, he is scheduled to meet with him next week - "a very interesting conversation I look forward to having."
"I want to sit down and get his view points on Israel, our greatest ally," Manchin said. "I want to see... why he chose to oppose the Iraq War, which I think was a wise choice now that we know all the conditions. Also Iran - I believe the sanctions in Iran are working and can even work further without going in and having a land war there. And Afghanistan. I believe that he believes, as I do, that there's not going to be any changes that we're going to significantly make there no matter how long we are there."
Republicans on the committee, too, said Hagel will have to prove himself against the odds. Appearing on "Face the Nation," the committee's top Republican, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said at this point he would neither vote for nor against Hagel, who chaired his presidential campaign in 2000 before turning around and endorsing Mr. Obama in 2008. There are "legitimate questions that need to be asked," McCain said.
"I honored Chuck Hagel's service. He's a friend," he continued. "My questions about him - and they will be raised in the nominations - are, what is his view of America's role in the world? Whether he really believes that the surge was the worst blunder since the Vietnam War. That clearly is not correct; in fact, it's bizarre. Why would he oppose calling the Iranian revolutionary guard a terrorist organization? [It's the] same outfit that's on the ground now in Syria killing Syrians, same outfit that was exploiting the most lethal IEDs into Iraq killing Americans."
Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said on "Fox News Sunday" she's "very troubled" about the president's decision to nominate Hagel. "I think the hearings on this nomination are going to be consequential," she said. "I have not made up my mind, but... you put up his prior positions. It makes me wonder - it perplexes me why the president nominated Sen. Hagel.
"Iran this week kind of reacted favorably, somewhat," Ayotte continued. "In fact, they said they were hopeful that with his nomination, they hoped that we would change our policies. What I want to make sure is that Iran is actually not hopeful, but they're fearful as a result of our nominee from the secretary of defense perspective, because I think that will cause them to stop marching toward acquiring a nuclear weapon."
Asked if it was fair to say she was leaning toward voting against Hagel, Ayotte said, "I think it's fair to say that if you look at his prior positions, he has a lot of questions to answer about this."
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., while not a member of the committee, said that though he, too, has questions about Hagel's "nuclear posture views," he also believes it's worth examining the two-term former senator's "overall temperament."
"Is he suited to run a department or a big agency or a big entity like the Pentagon?" Corker asked on ABC's "This Week." "I think there are numbers of staffers who are coming forth now just talking about the way he has dealt with them. I certainly have questions about a lot of things. I begin all of these confirmation processes with an open mind."
Hagel did have some champions working the Sunday morning circuit, including one committee member. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who's made no secret of his support for Hagel, said he's confident the Senate will put the nomination through, and that his time in Vietnam will give him "credibility with the forces."
"He's fought," Reed said. "He has literally walked in their boots. That, I think, will inspire great confidence in the military officers and enlisted men that he deals with, and women."
Hagel has some support outside the Senate too. Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal said on "Face the Nation" he has "no problem" with the idea of Hagel as defense secretary. "He certainly has a great record, not just as a soldier, but as a senator."
Perhaps the most full-throated endorsement came from former Secretary of State Colin Powell: Hagel "has had a very, very distinguished public service record that he can stand on," Powell said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "There are a lot of comments about different things he's said over the years, and I think he'll have a chance to respond to all those comments at the his confirmation hearings.
"...I've read some of the responses that he's already put together, and I think he will make a very, very spirited defense of his position," Powell continued. "And I think he'll be confirmed."
