Sunday, February 10, 2013

Chuck Hagel Camp: He’s not Dropping Out



by Tim Mak


Chuck Hagel’s camp pushed back forcefully Friday against the notion that he might remove himself from consideration to be secretary of Defense.

“There is absolutely no truth to the notion that Sen. Hagel might consider withdrawing,” a Hagel aide told POLITICO. “He's continuing his prep work and getting up to speed on the issues he will deal with as secretary of Defense.”

Online commentators began to speculate that Hagel might bow out, as more than a week had passed since his widely panned confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee with no word about when its members might take a vote.

Author Thomas Ricks floated the idea in a post on his blog Friday, arguing that the odds of a withdrawal were 50-50 and would increase two percent for every business day the Senate Armed Services Committee doesn’t schedule a vote. The conservative Weekly Standard — run by Hagel arch-nemesis Bill Kristol — immediately picked up that post.

But among politicians and operatives supportive of Hagel, there is little evidence of a coming withdrawal — and more than a little pique at Republicans for delaying the confirmation process. They insist he should surrender still more information about his income, but Democrats have cried foul.

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter Friday to ranking member Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), arguing that Hagel “has provided all the financial information the rules of the committee require.”

Levin’s letter echoed Democratic frustrations with Republican demands for more financial disclosure, and argued that Republican demands far exceed the standard practices of the committee.

"The committee cannot have two different sets of financial disclosure standards for nominees, one for Sen. Hagel and one for other nominees," Levin wrote.

The Hagel aide added, “With Chairman Levin's statement today, we're looking forward to a vote soon.”

Still, the nominee has also made no secret of the fact that he didn’t seek out the chance to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who — even though Hagel hasn’t been confirmed — was still set to mark his departure from the Pentagon on Friday in a ceremony outside Washington with President Barack Obama as his guest.

Hagel told lawmakers at his hearing that although he’d accepted the president’s offer and considered himself well qualified, he did not seem wildly enthusiastic about it.

“When the president asked me to consider this job, I didn't want another job,” he said. "I was not looking for another job. There are a lot of qualified Americans that can do this job. ... I'm not the only one.”

Nonetheless, aides’ comments on Friday and other commitments of support this week made clear that Democrats are sticking by the Nebraska Republican.

On Thursday evening, Hagel added an endorsement from Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), bringing up his number of public endorsements to 19 senators, including two Republicans.

On the other hand, 15 Republican senators currently oppose his confirmation.

Levin had originally hoped that a vote on Hagel’s confirmation would coincide with Thursday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on Benghazi, but these hopes were dashed when 25 Republicans jointly signed a letter demanding further financial disclosure.

Senate Republicans are demanding that Hagel disclose the sources of all his compensation worth more than $5,000 over the past five years — and that he make assurances that organizations he’s been affiliated with, such as the Atlantic Council, have not received foreign funding over the past decade.

Hagel has argued that the documents are not his to disclose.

“Your request for financial information regarding certain private corporate and non-profit entities … is not mine to provide,” Hagel wrote in a letter to Republican senators earlier this week.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 4:02 p.m. on February 8, 2013.

Tim Mak

Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/chuck-hagel-camp-insists-no-thoughts-of-withdrawal-87402.html#ixzz2KS4ZczL5

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