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Dem Sen. Murphy: GOP ‘spoiling for a fight’ over Hagel
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Monday showed support for President Obama’s decision to tap former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to be secretary of Defense, but cautioned he expected strong GOP opposition.
Murphy suggested that much of the criticism of Hagel, who will be officially nominated to succeed current Secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon on Monday, was more political than policy-oriented.
“Republicans are spoiling for a fight. They recognize that this guy’s coming into his second term with a head of steam, that he’s very well-regarded on issues of foreign policy,” said Murphy on CNN’s “Starting Point” of President Obama. “Republicans are used to holding the advantage on that and have lost it to an extent and they just want to pick a fight.”
“He’d be the first Vietnam veteran, the first enlisted soldier to serve as secretary of Defense. A guy with real serious foreign-policy chops and who quite frankly hasn’t been afraid to depart from his party when he thought they were wrong,” said Murphy. “Obviously, he took a very public stance against the Republican orthodoxy on the Iraq war back when really few Republicans were doing that.”
Hagel’s selection is likely to set off a tough confirmation battle, with many Republicans questioning their former colleague’s stance on Israel and Iran. Pro-Israel groups have spearheaded a campaign against his nomination, seizing on a remark he made while in office criticizing the “Jewish lobby” for intimidating lawmakers.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday called the selection an “in-your-face nomination” and warned that Hagel faced a tough path to confirmation.
Democrats have also expressed concern about Hagel’s past comments criticizing an openly gay ambassadorial nominee. Hagel apologized for those remarks.
Murphy on Monday said Hagel would not have been tapped if Obama did not trust him to implement the administration’s policies.
“I can tell he’s someone the president trusts,” said Murphy. “I understand some of the concerns that are being raised, but let’s be clear, President Obama is only picking someone who is going to support his position on Israel, which is a strong position in support of that special relationship. And someone who’s going to make sure his secretary of Defense implements strongly the nation’s policy on gays in the military.
“I know Chuck Hagel will do both of those things,” said Murphy.
