Policy & Strategy

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said President Obama is putting America’s security at risk by nominating Chuck Hagel to be secretary of Defense.

“Chuck Hagel’s nomination as secretary of Defense has already done damage to the security of the United States,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “President Obama should choose someone else to lead the Pentagon.”

In answers to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hagel said sequestration would be "devastating" and backed missile-defense technology for Israel.

If no Democrats vote against Hagel, then only four more GOP senators would be needed to stop any filibuster attempt.

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — The disclosure came a day after a censor unexpectedly turned off part of the Monday proceedings. 

The Topline: One more obstacle to former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-Neb.) nomination as the next Defense secretary has been added to the list, after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) threatened to block Hagel’s confirmation unless current Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies on the Sept. 11 Benghazi attack.

Graham’s threat to place a hold on Hagel appeared to be short-lived, as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said he was working on a Benghazi hearing with Panetta.

What’s still not settled yet is whether Panetta will in fact testify.

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Hagel and his wife hold between $100,001 and $250,000 of Chevron common stock and between $5,001 and $15,000 in dividends.

Sen. Levin said Graham’s threat likely need not be acted on, because a Panetta hearing was already in the works.

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — The accused mastermind of the USS Cole bombing said officials are denying him a fair trial.

The State Department is shuttering the office dedicated to closing the Guantánamo Bay prison in Cuba in an apparent signal that the White House has given up for now, The New York Times reported Monday. 

The special diplomatic envoy tasked with repatriating and resettling the detainees, Daniel Fried, will become the State Department's coordinator for sanctions policy, according to an internal personnel announcement obtained by the Times. His previous responsibilities will be assumed by the office of the department's legal adviser.

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The administration on Monday said it had "no information to confirm" reports of an explosion at Iran's Fordow nuclear facility.