“Ash Carter will be in the witness hot seat at his confirmation hearing Wednesday, but it’s President Barack Obama who will really be on trial,” Politico reports.
“Republicans who now control the Senate Armed Services Committee plan to make Carter’s confirmation hearing to become defense secretary all about the commander in chief, using the daylong grilling as a forum to excoriate the president’s foreign policy and national security strategy.”
Ashton Carter will be President Obama’s choice as secretary of defense, “barring last-minute complications,” CNN reports.
“An administration official had said that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, a former General Counsel at the Pentagon, was also still on the list of possibilities, but on Tuesday morning, sources said Johnson was no longer being considered. The prospect of an additional confirmation hearing for Johnson’s replacement if he were to move to the Pentagon as the Senate switches to Republican control would have been problematic for the White House.”
The New York Times says the shortlist to replace Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel includes Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Michele Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense, and Ashton Carter, a former deputy secretary of defense.
Roll Call says that confirmation of Reed “would presumably be a foregone conclusion.”
[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]Of course, Reed has turned down the job before. Perhaps the thought of being in the Senate minority will help change his mind. [/speech_bubble]
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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