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Rubio says he will vote against Hagel
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on Thursday added his name to the list of Republicans who will vote against former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-Neb.) confirmation to become Defense secretary.
Rubio said in a Fox News interview that he would not support President Obama’s pick to head the Pentagon. Rubio cited the first part of Hagel’s confirmation hearing in his decision, saying Hagel had failed to address his concerns.
“I’ve stated long ago that I have been deeply concerned about his previous comments, with regards to sanctions on Iran, with regards to direct negotiations with North Korea, obviously statements he’s made about Israel, and these are not the kind of statements and positions that I want our secretary of Defense have,” Rubio told Fox News.
“These are big, big problems. For those reasons I just don’t believe I will be able to support his nomination, especially after his testimony in the last hour here really [has not addressed] those concerns to my satisfaction,” said Rubio, who does not get to question Hagel Thursday because he's not on the Armed Services Committee.
A dozen Democrats have said they will back Hagel, and one Republican, Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), has also indicated he will vote for Hagel’s confirmation.
— Julian Pecquet contributed.
