Israel Matzav

Inhofe threatens to filibuster Hagel nomination

The ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Jim Inhofe (R-Ok), is threatening to filibuster Chuck Hagel's nomination to be US Secretary of Defense. And there's no 'unless' involved (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

“I want a 60-vote margin and you don’t have to filibuster to get that,” said Inhofe in an interview on Fox News. “I would threaten to cause a 60-vote margin. If it took a filibuster, I’d do it that way.”

Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that requiring 60 votes to confirm nominees was common and dismissed suggestions that GOP colleagues would be reluctant to back him.

“They are predicating it on the assumption that we haven’t been doing it. In the last nine years we’ve done it nine times; some of them have been confirmed some have not. I don’t see anything wrong with 60-vote margin with any of the two most significant jobs, appointments that the president has,” said Inhofe.

The Senate has never filibustered a Cabinet nominee.

“I don’t trust this president to make the right appointment, I don’t think that Hagel is the right appointment,” Inhofe added.

Hagel has faced tough opposition from GOP lawmakers, who have raised concerns about his views on Israel and Iran. But Inhofe is the first GOP senator to publicly back a possible filibuster to prevent his confirmation.

Hmmm. Maybe there's hope after all.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Chuck Hagel, Jim Inhofe

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:57 PM