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Posted by
Olog-hai
on Mon Nov 24 19:35:39 2014, in response to Chuck Hagel stepping down; apparently "under pressure", posted by Olog-hai on Mon Nov 24 09:43:45 2014.
fiogf49gjkf0d Politico
Ted Cruz: Joe Lieberman for Defense secretaryBy Seung Min Kim
11/24/14 5:41 PM ESTSen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has a person in mind to replace outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel: Joe Lieberman.
Cruz floated the former Connecticut independent senator as a “strong” option to succeed Hagel, who announced his resignation earlier Monday. President Barack Obama has not yet named a proposed replacement.
“One strong option would be former Sen. Joe Lieberman, a member of the president’s own party with deep experience and unshakable commitment to the security of the United States,” Cruz said. “I urge the president to give him full and fair consideration for this critical position.”
Lieberman, who retired from Congress in 2012, was known for his hawkish views on foreign policy that he shared with Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The three men were dubbed the Three Amigos.
The former senator, who was the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee in 2000, was recently announced as an honorary co-chairman at the centrist group No Labels.
Other possibilities for Hagel’s replacement include former top Pentagon officials Michèle Flournoy and Ash Carter, as well as Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). But a Reed spokesman said earlier Monday that the senator does not want to be considered for the Defense secretary slot.
Cruz said in a recent Politico op-ed that the incoming GOP Senate majority should not confirm any executive or judicial branch nominee outside of “vital national security positions” if Obama issued executive action on immigration — which the president did last week.
But in Monday’s statement, the Texas senator clarified that “by any measure,” the Defense secretary role fits that description.
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