Thomas E. Ricks, who is well-sourced in Democratic national security policy circles, says there's a "50-50" chance Chuck Hagel withdraws from consideration for the secretary of defense job.
Ricks says that Hagel "didn't do well" in his Senate hearing last week, and didn't seem "interested in the job."
There have been requests from U.S. senators that Chuck Hagel, who has been nominated as secretary of defense, reveal what foreign money he's received for work since leaving the Senate four years ago.
The Emergency Committee for Israel has a new ad focusing on the Senate testimony from Barack Obama's defense secretary nominee, Chuck Hagel. "Today the Emergency Committee for Israel released 'Endorsed,' a 30-second TV ad that will begin airing tomorrow in Washington DC and New York," said ECI director Noah Pollak in a statement. "'Endorsed' contrasts Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel's views on the Iranian regime, which he described last week as 'elected' and 'legitimate,' with Hillary Clinton's description of the regime as a 'military dictatorship.'"
Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, tells Politico reporter Manu Raju that the committee will not vote on the nomination of Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense on Thursday, as planned:
Hagel vote won't be tomorrow in Armed Services. Levin: "The committee’s review of the nomination is not yet complete."
BuzzFeed reports that Chuck Hagel is refusing to detail foreign funders and disclose other necessary financial information to the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The editors of Barack Obama's hometown paper, the Chicago Tribune, urge the president to drop the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense. The paper endorsed Obama in two presidential elections.
The editors of the paper write, "We'll be candid ... He should be in some other job, not running the Pentagon."
The Emergency Committee for Israel has released a new ad called "confusion," which highlights Chuck Hagel's rocky performance in last week's Senate hearing:
"Today the Emergency Committee for Israel released "Confusion," a web ad highlighting Defense Secretary nominee Chuck Hagel's confused response at last week's hearing to questions about the Obama administration's Iran policy," says ECI in a press release.
The top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said over the weekend that opposition to the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense is "intensifying." The second highest ranking Republican in the Senate, John Cornyn of Texas, has been leading the charge against Hagel.
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