Hagel Nomination Passes Cloture

Senate Republicans succeeded in stopping Chuck Hagel’s nomination just under two weeks ago, but when the Senate voted on cloture today, it wasn’t even close:

The Senate voted 71-27 on Tuesday to end debate on Chuck Hagel’s nomination to become secretary of Defense, ending a Republican rearguard campaign that forced Democrats to fight for every step toward confirmation, which is expected within the next day or so.

The former Republican senator from Nebraska needed at least 60 votes to clear Tuesday’s procedural hurdle, but only needs a simple majority to be confirmed, which Democrats can deliver with their 55 members, though a handful of Republicans are expected to support him.

It wasn’t immediately clear when Hagel will finally be confirmed, since Senate rules allow a member to delay final action temporarily after debate is ended.

On Tuesday, as a second cloture vote approached after Republicans blocked the first nearly two weeks ago, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid bemoaned all the delays, arguing Republicans had accomplished nothing.

“Twelve days ago the Republicans mounted a first of its kind filibuster on Sen. Hagel’s nomination. … What has the filibuster gained my Republican colleagues? Twelve days later, nothing,” Reid said on the Senate floor. “Politically motivated delays send a terrible signal to our allies around the world, and they send a terrible signal to tens of thousands of Americans serving in Afghanistan, other parts of the world and … in the United States.”

Still, even as they approached the vote they knew they’d lose, key Republicans stuck by their opposition. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he’d asked Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to stay on — or that he’d prefer former undersecretary of Defense for policy Michèle Flournoy or Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter — to Hagel.

And Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana and Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas both said the lingering controversy over Hagel was evidence in its own right that he should not take over the Pentagon.

“Sen. Hagel is clearly the wrong man for the job,” Cornyn said. “This isn’t about personality. This isn’t about politics. … He is the wrong man for the job.”

Majority Leader Harry Reid announced after the vote that he intended to go forward with the final vote at 4;30pm today. That vote will likely be much closer than the cloture vote since many Republicans who had announced their opposition to Hagel, including John McCain, ended up voting to invoke cloture in order to allow the vote to go forward today. In any case, I’d expect Senator Hagel to be confirmed later today.

FILED UNDER: Congress, Military Affairs, National Security, US Politics, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. mantis says:

    Senate Republicans succeeded in stopping Chuck Hagel’s nomination just under two weeks ago

    For no reason other than to be assholes.

  2. legion says:

    Well, it’s official: Republicans are an active threat to national security. The entire filibuster detour was simply one man throwing a temper tantrum to get attention, and rather than take one of their own aside and tell him to shut up and do what’s best for the country instead of his ego, they stand by his side, against the country. I am daily surprised by how low these people can go – it’s a new level of filth each time I look.

  3. OzarkHillbilly says:

    And Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana and Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas both said the lingering controversy over Hagel their tenures in the Senate was evidence in its own right that he they should not take over the Pentagon be there..

    “Sen. Hagel Cornyn and Sen. Coats are is clearly the wrong maen for the job,” they said. “This isn’t about personality. This isn’t about politics. … He is the wrong man for the job We are complete and utter idiots.”

  4. Dan says:

    After about ten years of seeing stupid, crazy and other types of shit from republicans, I don’t know what to say anymore. I’m just curious why republicans with possible future ambitions, like Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, Kelly Ayotte, Rand Paul and others continue to act as or more stupidly than John McCain, Mitt Romney and George W Bush. You would think that they’d have learnt something by now. This really is the stupid party, isn’t it?

  5. gVOR08 says:

    Another crisis manufactured by Republicans. This is no way to run a country.

  6. Mark Ivey says:

    “Rarely is the question asked: Is our Republicans learning?”

    Oh hell no……………………..

  7. Rob in CT says:

    So…

    What was the point, again?

  8. Console says:

    Republicans filibustered a republican… yet we’re all still supposed to take GOP opposition to Obama as grounded in good faith.

  9. Gold Star for Robot Boy says:

    And Rand Paul voted against cloture this morning but this afternoon for approving Hagel.

    WAT.