Obama to nominate Hagel for Defense, Brennan for CIA
By Scott Wilson
From The Washington Post
President Obama on Monday will nominate former Nebraska senator Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense and counterterrorism adviser John O. Brennan to direct the Central Intelligence Agency, the White House said.
The announcement will be made in the East Room of the White House shortly after 1 p.m.
The successful nomination of Hagel would add a well-known Republican to the president’s second-term Cabinet at a time when he is looking to better bridge the partisan divide, particularly after a bitter election campaign. But the expected nomination has drawn sharp criticism, particularly from Republicans, who have questioned Hagel’s commitment to Israel’s security.
The choice sets up a confirmation fight of the sort that Obama appeared unwilling to have over Susan E. Rice, his preferred pick for secretary of state. Rice pulled out of consideration for that job last month after facing sharp Republican criticism about her characterization of the September attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.
In an appearance Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) called Hagel’s selection an “in-your-face nomination.”
But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Hagel’s record would be given a fair shake in the Senate if he is nominated. McConnell stopped short of saying whether he would support his former colleague.
“He’s certainly been outspoken in foreign policy and defense over the years,” McConnell said on ABC’s “This Week.” He added: “The question we’ll be answering, if he’s the nominee, is: Do his views make sense for that particular job? I think he ought to be given a fair hearing, like any other nominee. And he will be.”
Brennan, a veteran CIA analyst who rose to become deputy executive director of the agency during the first term of President George W. Bush, was among those considered for the top CIA job when Obama took office in 2009.
But he again came under political fire from liberals who accused him of complicity in the agency’s use of brutal interrogation measures under Bush. Spooked by the criticism — which Brennan denounced as unfair and inaccurate — Obama quickly backtracked.
After Brennan withdrew his name from consideration for the CIA post, Obama hired him as White House counterterrorism director, a position that required no Senate confirmation and had no well-defined duties.
At the outset, colleagues said they wondered what his job would be. But to a young administration new to the secret details of national security threats and responsibilities, Brennan was a godsend.
If he is successfully nominated to head the agency this time, Brennan, 57, would be filling the vacancy created by the resignation of David H. Petraeus, following the discovery that Petraeus was having an adulterous affair.
“Brennan has the full trust and confidence of the President,” an administration official said in a statement Monday. “For four years, he has seen the President every day, and been by his side for some of his toughest decisions . . . Brennan is as close to President Obama as any member of his national security team.”
