The Senate has its work cut out for it, now that President Obama has officially sent the names of both Chuck Hagel and John Brennan to them for confirmation as new Cabinet secretaries.
In a press conference this afternoon, Obama praised Hagel, a former Republican senator, for his bipartisanship after nominating him as Secretary of Defense to replace Leon Panetta, who is retiring.
Obama also spoke well of Brennan, who he hopes will return to the CIA after spending more than 25 years there earlier in his career. If confirmed by the Senate, Brennan will step in to head the agency that has been under interim directorship since David Petraeus resigned amidst a sex scandal last year.
But confirmation for the candidates, especially Hagel, is far from certain.
The Democrats don't have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and Republicans have indicated they are not happy with their former colleague's stances on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or what they see as his lackluster support for the security of Israel.
Of course, whatever their reasons, Republicans risk looking extremely partisan if they attempt to filibuster a former Republican nominated by a Democratic president.
While it is rare for the Senate to actually vote down a cabinet appointment (it's happened only twice since World War II), it's far more common for nominees to withdraw their names in the face of strong opposition, a scenario that has happened six times since 1993.
Of course, potential nominees can withdraw their names from consideration even before being nominated, as Susan Rice did when she was being vetted to take over Hillary Clinton's position as secretary of state.
But since both Hagel and Brennan have made it this far, that possibility is moot.
Even if Republican senators don't particularly want to deny Hagel the position -- it may be just as politically advantageous for them to be able to cast a protest vote that doesn't prevent Hagel from being confirmed -- they'll likely face strong pushed from pro-Israel lobbying groups to deny Hagel's appointment, or at least make him answer tough questions and wring commitments to Israel out of him before he's allowed to take office.
And while Democrats, especially gay rights groups, have been grumbling about Hagel, who has a history of inflammatory rhetoric against LGBT people that he's perfunctorily apologized for, they'll likely fall in line, at least to deny Republicans the opportunity to make Obama look weak right before another fiscal fight over the debt ceiling.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
